Quest for the Khushrenada Blue Lotus Rose
by Terra Khushrenada
Summary: OK! For Chile... and someone else in the US... I WILL add at least ONE new chapter here. we will see about more... Halloween Special for the "By The Roadway" Epic Trilogy now on DA.
1. Introduction!

_**Quest for the Khushrenada Blue Lotus Rose**_

**Does someone in Chile REALLY want more of this written? Or are you just really confused by chapter 1? **

**...Anonymous reviews are allowed you know =P Or I guess you can just keep... doing what your doing...**

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN!** Two Trieze Doves & a Godrick in a Pear Tree..!…Nightmare before Christmas anyone? Gundam Pilots go on a Dungeon Style Adventure! Features the story of the "original" Khuβhrénir's! Treats for the YAOI lovers out there!

This is AU of my AU and completely fantastical… Chapter 1: very elaborate introduction to set the scene for this story with a lot of information… you ARE now warned. Chapter 2 gets more fun and things get back to my usual style.

(((Hey hey hey! Worlds worst delay monster here! I HAVE GOOD NEWS! Though while some might give me those exasperated sighs...

I HAVE POSTED the** Gundam Wing / Cowboy Bebop crossover **Sequel to By The Roadway!

Never mind that it's out of order and BTRw has been stuck on ch9 of 22 for the past several months... **ITS MORE ACTION**, and Vicious action at that! Hopefully I will finish any and all of these little projects, I know my life wont be complete till I do! So go check it out, being one of two of it's kind means very little traffic passing by to notice it...)))

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><p>NOTE:: (((which you can skip)))<p>

GUNDAM WING blah FAN FICTION fine print, NOT MINE! YET WRITEN BY ME so I get no moneys and you get free advertising and promotion…

…that's dumb: I'm so illustrating my own manga/comic in the next year or few with all original content…

So this year, in my area, Halloween was canceled due to a freak storm dropping a ton of snow on us and causing havoc with the leaves still on the trees over burdening the branches and causing them to tear off and destroy all the telephone/power lines, Hence the choice of riffing off a Christmas song…

We all KNOW you can't CANCEL Halloween… so we'll just consider this the longest Halloween ever! Lasting from the day it should have been till…. When ever we like? I'm awesome with excuses, it's terrible.** ::facepalm::**

**Speaking of excuses: **Yes Trieze lives, I wanted to hold off till BTRw was done so that would seem more of a natural progression… but what the hell, did you really NOT expect that from me? THIS FIC does give a DIFFERENT excuse as to why he survives so it doesn't QUITE give away how that all goes down in the final chapters of BTRw:

**: So never fear – it's not really a spoiler.**

I'm going to be rapid-fire posting the chapters for this, so check back often and you can send me angry letters if there isn't something new (or it done), it's not going to be that long and should be finalized within the week. And don't worry the action starts up soon enough! I just love _**telling stories**_ first though!

Things might get a bit OOC, but this is _supposed_ to be fluffy and fun; it is a TREAT to MY SELF =P! Everything in TPoYI and BTRw count _in _this EXCEPT Nitro Mudo doesn't exist in this one & no crazy Z-PLCs stuff (anyone making a sad face shouldn't worry – you get to meet other "fun" "people" AND THERE'S MAGIC NOW!), but _this does not effect anything in BTRw or it's sequels_…

And yes, yes this first chapter is very long and has just a lot of information in it without a lot of action..._))_

::NOTE:::

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><p><strong>AC 197… October 30<strong>**th****… A Thursday Night_**

Duke Trieze Godrick Khushrenada the XIII; former World Sovereign and General of the Earth Unified National Guard had SOMEHOW miraculously turned up a year after his supposed death at the end of the Eve War – averting yet another worldwide disaster as his Daughter attempted to claim his former title.

Now, dressed in an all black suit with a red tie of the finest of European tailoring complete with a $24,000 pair of handmade Italian shoes, he leaned casually against the host's podium in the waiting area of one of the most expensive restaurants in Luxemburg,

"Reservation for thirteen" The woman barely looked up from her furious work of coordinating the various buzzers and pagers as well as adjusting the digital seating chart.

"…Under what name?" Trieze couldn't help grinning; he loved catching people by surprise.

"Khushrenada"

"And how is that spelled?"

The woman was showing all the signs she had been working in overdrive for some time, it often happened to his Lady Une.

"O…Z…"

The woman stopped her scanning of the registry and looked up,

"How do you get K… OH! My **most sincere** apologies your Excellency!" She stepped out from behind the stand to bow to him, her face turning completely red. "It's been quite a busy night! Your table is ready and waiting, have all of your guests arrived?"

Trieze was more then pleased and hardly offended – it was so boring when a red carpet coated every bit of ground you walked on. He slipped his arm around Lady Une's waist,

"Mostly, I'm sure the stragglers will be quite capable of showing themselves in," He winked passing her a substantial tip, "You certainly don't need to be taking any extra troubles for a bunch of free-loaders."

Laughing he looked back over his shoulder to appreciate Milliardo's dry glare as he waited patiently with Noin and the others:

Relena, Heero, Hilde, Quatre, Catherine and of course, Mariemaia; Who was dressed in an ankle long black pleated skirt with the inner folds dyed maroon and a matching maroon blouse and black jacket combination with black beret to top it all off.

(_You know what everyone else would wear! This is just a prelude/setup scene, you know me and 'dinners' I'm trying to get on to the point so I'm NOT embellishing this any more then to introduce who's appearing in this story right now and a gist of what brings them here, we'll get "into" all the characters later... OTHERWISE this scene could really get out of hand and take forever!_)

Duo, Trowa and Wu Fei's shuttle from the Colonies had been mysteriously delayed. They arrived soon after Trieze had perused, and then _finally _picked out a selection of the fine wines available and the order they should be brought out to the table – an extensive process involving the head waiter and _several_ assistants. Since this wasn't the first "reunion" dinner they'd held, it had the others wondering how unavoidable the late-comer's "shuttle delay" really was.

The former Oz Colonel had felt compelled to extend each of the pilots an apology package; a few individualized gifts as well as the promise to oblige any favors they should ever request of him. Wu Fei, whom of course flatly refused any of it directly _and only_ came out of respect to the other 4 pilots, had been heard to grumble about how it was all just a stunt to try and remain relevant in a world that thought he was_** old **_news.

Catherine and Hilde had both been a little skeptical at first, but considering the trail of zeros after number on the check Trieze Khushrenada had sent as an advance for helping fill in as care-takers for his daughter, they had both come to enjoy trading off the responsibility in-between their regular jobs at the Circus and Scrap-yard respectively; Because of it they did get full access to personal transport to make it easier to get back and forth between Earth and the Colonies after all.

(Seating counter clockwise: 13, 11, m, H, 2, C, 3, 4, 5, 1, R, 9, 6)

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><p><strong>Tonight's dinner<strong> **was actually a special request from Duo Maxwell:**

He INSISTED his American heritage be honored appropriately and for his _**most favorite**_ "traditional" celebration nothing short of a "thousand dollar" steak and a stay in the most expensive (_and sppoooky!)_ "hotel" he knew would do: that "hotel" being the Khushrenada Castle… it was **HALLOWEEN **after all!

…The appetizers had come just as Duo was finishing his explanation of what exactly this "Halloween" nonsense was all about…_ (((For those who didn't know…)))_

"…So since they were _so_ _paranoid _about being "unchristian" the whole idea of having a harvest festival was forbidden in most of the thirteen original U.S. American Colonies. No one really knows exactly how it all started but someone had the idea of changing the holiday into that of a symbolic "banishing" of devils, witches and other unholy creatures – usually in the form of children dressing up as all sorts of frightening things and going door to door to collect "treats" or "devil's pay" followed by a large community bon-fire gathering."

He some how managed to devour an entire buttered roll without missing a beat; even in a gothic morticians style tuxedo Duo still managed to flaunt his street-slicker ways.

"Calling free things given to children "Devil's Pay"… I can relate to that sentiment…" Trieze sipped at the Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux that he'd chosen as the starter.

"It doesn't sound like they really changed the celebration at all…" Trowa was taking more time with his own piece of bread.

"Well yeah that's the point, people never change. Though, over time the costumes really branched out and ever since it's always been kind of a huge masquerade festival with a typically morbid theme. Ya know…"

Duo gave Hilde's hand a grateful squeeze next to him; ever the willing accomplice, she had indeed given him a complete "under the table" status update on exactly how much longer the three had before Trieze was finished with his obsessive pre-dinner ritual (that required most of a restaurant's wine cellar's contents to be thoroughly scrutinized before it could be completed),

"…my favorite part is that it was always a time to _**tell spooky stories**_, like about zombies, ghosts, haunted houses, vampires or evil witches…OH! Of course insane serial killers too, that's some of the most twisted stuff; especially because it's usually based on a true story!"

He of course couldn't help grinning at Trieze and Milliardo with that last part. They were sitting next to each other with their fiancé's to the left and right of them at the large round table they were all sitting at situated in its own dining section.

Duo often made jokes about the two being deranged psychopaths considering the roles they had played trying to end the war. (…But wouldn't dare test Lady Une's humor in such a way - mostly because it wouldn't be a joke in her case!)

The two exchanged weary looks; even if the matter had been settled to the world's satisfaction, the two _almost brothers_ had never really come to an actual conclusion after the war as Trieze had "exited" the final conflict early. (_…_with Wu Fei's assistance of course.) The 02 pilot's allusions to the past never helped anything.

"I," Trieze cleared his throat as he 'moved on' from the tense moment, "in fact would have a few TRUE stories that might be along those lines…"

"Oh yeah?" Duo's eyes were alight with gleeful skepticism; he knew the Ex-Ozzie could never resist a contest in any form.

The waiter returned to see if they were ready to order and of course Trieze insisted on being last since he was having such a hard time making up his mind in the end saying:

"You know what? I'll have the Steak Tartare… all this _Peace_ has me _**craving **_something …_bloody_," he winked at Duo, "It is in the holiday spirit after all."

"…Of course, any excuse..." Milliardo muttered as he took a significant sip from his own wine glass, at least Trieze's laborious considerations for wine quality wasn't all for show.

"Okay, what about these stories of yours, huh? What are we talking about here, the day WE first came to Earth? Bet **that **was a scary surprise!" That comment made a few people laugh around the table.

"Oh humbug, no. We KNEW that was going to happen for _a while_, Mr. Maxwell. Don't kid yourself. …I would actually be referring to some of the strange goings on at my own family's estate… You know… the Castle you insisted on spending the weekend in? I suppose you might as well be warned now it's not a place where you should go wandering off on your own…"

He trailed off busying himself with spearing a sausage wrapped in bread with a miniature fork; goading Duo to pry further… Trieze did love being the center of attention after all.

"Oh REALLY? And why would a strong young GUNDAM pilot like _myself _have any cause to worry?"

"I once had that same attitude… that was before my father caught me wandering the upper halls of the west wing and warned me never to go near the door to the western tower…

…You see…

…The western wing of the castle would be the older of the two additions, even if it underwent some of the most renovations when it came time to "technologically" upgrade the fortress. The eastern being the more recent, and with more extensive gardens along that side, more preferable to my tastes – the entire castle was designed for SEVERAL families _AND an entire_ community of servants to be able to comfortably live there after all; the three of us hardly need all of the extra space now…

The original center structure itself was built by the very First Trieze Godrick Khushrenada on the site of the ruins of a previous strong hold – _rumored to have been a gothic structure massive beyond comprehension; it was such so __**an entire mountain**__ had been carved out to form it and when it collapsed it left behind the lake that now rests at the bottom of the cliff behind the estate: a testament to the vastness of the halls that had been contained under the soaring arches. Halls which were said to have been witness to some of the most vial sins ever to be committed in those far ancient days and the floors washed with the blood of innocent virgins so often_ that God could no longer bare to allow the structure to stand and did smite it down himself! (_secret crossover!)_

The door to the western tower is always kept locked as it contains some of the most important records regarding the history of the Castle's original construction as well as other artifacts – including a small shrine to the one who had commissioned the west wing's construction: Godrick Trieze the Fourth. His love of academia being the reason he designed it with the massive six story library that could double as an entertainment hall before the east wing was added with its _beautiful_ marble work ball room…" ((This is where you first meet EPYON in the series!))

"Wait… so let me get this straight… your whole family history book is just filled with 'Godrick Trieze' and 'Trieze Godrick's?"

Duo didn't care if it was good wine or not, it was free for him!

"No there were a few others, like an Alfred once… and Peter Sinclair Khushrenada who changed his name from Godrick Trieze the 6th, just to give it to his own son a few years later. It's a Tradition started by the founders of the Khushrenada linage – the last born with the title of Khuβhrénir. Perhaps I shall tell you about that later, but back to this…

…I was always one to be skeptical of my father's motives, so cautioning me _against_ something always perked my interest. So OF _course_, at the next available opportunity, I found myself outside that supposedly _locked_ door… and it was ajar.

**Naturally, **I decided this had to all be part of some _elaborate plan_ of my father's, and went on up the stairs.

It was much like I expected it to be – an old tower study that was a museum to the various family treasures that were kept there. I couldn't help but find myself looking over a massive text that was left on display; it was the personal notes of my ancestor, Godrick the 4th, from his life-long research of the estate's history.

I really wasn't surprised when my father managed to sneak up behind me, as he_ always _had an uncanny way of knowing when I was up to something I shouldn't be. He asked me;

"_What are you doing here, boy?"_

So of course I was honest and told my father I was merely curious why the door would be kept locked to begin with; Asserting that I was doing nothing _wrong _even if he'd told me to stay away. …It _was strange_ the way he stood there thinking over what I'd said before responding;

"_Boy, if your father instructs you not to do something – it is wrong to do it. But… Since you __**are**__ up here…"_

For the next _hour_ **or more** he started telling me all sorts of stories about the castle's history, and _pulled out several volumes_ in order to answer a few of my questions…"

"Whoa, whoa… ok as _frightfully **boring**_ as those formal ball things you go to all the time can be, I really don't see how father-son bonding time over some history books is anything _scary_…"

Duo was ready for the main course already.

"Well you see… that's just it… MY father… came up the stairs looking for me after he'd already searched the rest of the castle. The man I had ASSUMED _to be my father_ for _quite some time_ with no indication that he was anything other then flesh and blood," He snapped his white gloved fingers together, "Gone. As if he had never been there to begin with. Leaving _me _alone in a room that was now completely scattered with said priceless records _**and**_ a _half-assed excuse_ about some _**ghost**_! A cruel sense of humor apparently runs **deep** in my family's blood!"

"I think recent history already proved that…" Milliardo wasn't about to miss opening as wide as that. Trieze appreciated the predictability even if it made both Une and Noin sigh.

"HA! How do you know your father didn't set up a hologram?"

"Even the best holograms can't PICK UP things – that's usually the biggest give away."

"I have a way scarier story then THAT...

((Actual local folk legend in my area… Thanx DJ Yess ^_~ Raw Rotations Friday's midnight-3am for live stream WXCI . org THE BEST commercial FREE radio station ever with music 24/7 and DJ's that still spin up vinyl along side the newest sounds in EVERY genre - EXCEPT POP! but there is the Sushi Sampler with DJ Moto if you want some good Japanese Pop!))

…there was this crazy old tree that grew next to this stretch of country road. For some reason the local farmers would always see dead squirrels and other small critters hanging from the branches and assumed that it was just the crows dropping road kill and it getting caught in the limbs.

_**Then one night**__ a pair of teenagers_, girlfriend and boyfriend, were riding in the back of a limo on their way home from the homecoming dance. The guy had given the limo driver an extra tip to make sure he took the _longest_ rout possible; so the kid wasn't really concerned when they ended up stopped on the side of a road and the driver claimed that there was something wrong with the engine and he'd have to go walk to the nearest house to use a phone.

Hours passed before the two realized something was out of place. The guy, feeling responsible for the detour, which probably was the cause of the issues, insisted that his girlfriend shouldn't get her dress dirty and that he would go by himself and to see if he could find out where the driver had gone.

_She fell asleep waiting for him to come back._

When she awoke, there was the flashing of police lights and an _odd back and forth scraping_ on the roof of the limo… When she opened the door, the cops frantically urged her to come over to them as quickly as possible and not look up or behind her… both the driver and the boyfriend were hanging by their feet above the limo, skinned and decapitated!

…Even though the tree was cut down within the next few months – not one of the men hired to do the work lived to see their next birthday, each dying by unnatural means."

Trieze scoffed,

"THAT is hardly believable in the LEAST, a murderous Tree? More likely a wandering psychopath and happenstance…"

"Even if it wasn't the tree, you got to admit it's a good story! I mean come on, _is_ _there_ **really** anything interesting about why your family is obsessed with the names Godrick and Trieze?"

"Well it has always been one of MY favorite stories…" he had quite a mischievous grin on his face, "…for reasons that might become obvious. It really isn't very morbid or frightening… but you could certainly say it has a bit of a _twisted_ nature to it… it _is_ the story of how my own family line came to leave the Christian church in a somewhat of a 'Henry the 8th' fashion and start their own religious traditions based on reviving the custom of ancestral veneration."

"Your ancestors murdered too many wives and got kicked out so they insisted _**they**_ be worshiped like gods by their children?"

Both Trieze and Milliardo laughed at that… …just for different reasons.

"Oh no… no, no, it's a far better tale then that… (((The MAIN event…)))

…The last two sons of the Khuβhrénir namesake were identical twins born merely hours apart whilst the fortress in which their family resided was under siege – supposedly the reason the midwife was unable to keep track of which was the true eldest!

Their names: Godrick and Trieze Khuβhrénir. The father, unwilling to risk denying the rightful heir _completely_ and invoking God's wrath (a _very _real thing in those days as I've already pointed out!), decreed that both would _share_ the title of eldest and the responsibilities that came along with it.

The brothers, while notorious for their _**constant **_bickering, became quite effective at ruling over the lands that were left to them after their father's passing. They were each a genius in their own realm of expertise after all:

Godrick was legendary for his tactical prowess and raw strength on the battlefield. He had a natural talent for rallying an army in even the most hopeless of fights, easily turning around the worst of catastrophes; leading his men on with a Great Sword that is the center piece of the extensive collection of weapons my father passed down to me.

Trieze… was more a creature of _the_ _pleasures_ of court life; a bard's calling was more suited to him. It is said he had a mind for negotiation and intrigue and a knack to be able to understand and draw on the emotions of others to manipulate them as he pleased; his insatiable love of women is what earned him his own reputation…"

Milliardo didn't feel he had to point out his whole-hearted agreement on that assessment.

"…while there is an entire book written about the origins of the twelve stringed guitar that he played – the instrument itself unfortunately did not manage to survive the test of time and disappeared long, long ago…

The real trouble came about when the two brothers sought to repay the 'debt' to the neighboring lord whose father had been the one to besiege their home during the time of their birth.

It was a move that both brothers had wanted to make for years; each feeling as though they were half-cheated of their rightful inheritance because of the attack as they both believed themselves the true eldest! The benefits were numerous; an outright win meant doubling the size of their lands and the currently reigning lord had **four **unwed sisters from which the two brothers could each pick a bride!

Since they had carefully planned and waited until they finally had the allies and resources to attempt it, the "war" was so devastatingly **one sided** it left the opposing lord feeling so spiteful and humiliated at his own incompetence …_that he murdered_ three of his sisters before taking his own life – leaving only the youngest and prettiest alive thinking her beauty enough to cause the two to turn on one another and tear their newly formed dukedom apart.

And he was almost right…

Supposedly the two fought for months! With words and fists _**and swords**_; there is mention of the two completely destroying the interior of their own fortress and the entire court resituating in a town outside the stronghold's walls in order to stay out of the dueling brother's way. Neither of the two could even agree if who ever was decided elder should even have the right to marry the Lady!

They did eventually agree on a way to settle the matter once and for all… and it seemed simple enough: **they asked her** to choose which ever **she **wished as her husband!

Now… while all of this hateful banter and fighting had been going on, in many ways the poor girl had just been kidnapped from her home after her four sibling's untimely deaths and then become the sole witness to the two conquering lords' extensive arguments: she could not find herself agreeing with either over the other!

Alas, since they were indeed **identical** twins, she could neither judge her choice on which was physically **the better**! – even stripped naked the virtues and failings of each balanced too perfectly for either to be preferable to the other; One with shorter hair and the other with longer, one heavy with muscles the other leaner but still as well built…

…and of course each was _equally endowed_ where it counted most!

So the fighting resumed for _**several more**_ weeks as the two tried to come up with the solution to their predicament. Until finally, there was only one conclusion that would be able to satisfy them_both_ equally… they _both _married her.

To do so, they were forced to leave the church and therefore change their family name from Khuβhrénir to the form that is now familiar to the world: Khushrenada.

ONLY **one issue still remained**… my _favorite_ part… After **whom **would the first born son be named as they now shared both bed and wife? It was not as though the looks of the child would likely reveal the answer even over time…

By this point, they were weary from the constant conflict and their wedding night was only delayed by a few days before they found consensus.

Once again they fell on the logic that their _Lady's pleasure_ should be the ultimate deciding factor in such matters of _overlapping desires_. The final solution being: Which ever _came_ second, _named_first… As they had only one son (and a myriad of daughters) it became part of the very first set of Traditional Family Rules that no male son would ever bear either brother's name without the others in order to honor them both equally…

…Considering that I have already given this answer away _most thoroughly_… can you guess which one was which?"

Trieze the 13th had a huge grin on his face.

…_and while __**their **__night continues on to see them all to their beds to ensure they are up early for the adventures that await them on a supposedly "normal" Friday at the Preventor's Headquarters before a weekend "Halloween Vacation"…_

…_For you my dear reader this little story continues on… for sometimes ink fades and details of history are forgotten, both by chance… and by design… which is why it is always best to return to the source… …See there the light that streams forth from another world? We must be on our way! Hurry now, before the gates to "what was" are closed for good…!_

_CH2! __**Long ago in the Master Bedchamber of the Former Khuβhrénir Castle… (^_~)**_


	2. Two Brothers Long Ago

**Long ago in the Master Bedchamber of the Former Khuβhrénir Castle… (^_~)**

Trieze…

…meticulously planted each soft luxurious kiss down and then back up the other side of his wife's neck; Each of his strong dark skinned arms cradling her lithe pale body so that his Lady needn't exert any more effort then that of bearing the pleasures that shuddered throughout her form as he continued his 'interior' labors nearing his own climax.

His jet black locks of hair, which he kept long enough to dangle past his knees when he was standing, formed its own curtain about the two lover's form. His exotic brilliant blue eyes gazed passionately out from under his elegantly forked brow– it was like staring at two patches of clear sky after being lost underground for days.

The Khuβhrénir, and now to be Khushrenada, bloodline had been intermingling in the European continent for several generations but it only took one captured Persian princess for a mother to have brought out many of the features of the twin's true heritage:

A clan from the Indian Kshatriyas caste that had left their homeland behind after a disagreement with the Brahmins over the altering of the religious rituals involving the divine Soma; They then sought to conquer all they could of the world, through either_ love_ or war, as it seemed the natural destiny of the Indo-Aryan decedents – All because of a little _defenseless_ mushroom…

Trieze felt the gripping pulses as Aria cried out, thrown over her edge once more, and could no longer bear to drag his own wanting out any further; withdrawing quickly to spill forth into a rag as his tongue now continued to see her pleasures to their own end. Considering the siege his brother Godrick was attempting on his latest campaign, Aria might otherwise be heavy with a child by the time he returned – something that would** not** please his warrior brother one bit since it would deprive him his own chance to lay with _his _wife.

His brother Godrick would _just never_ understand why it was Trieze insisted on having part in _this_ woman. Truly enough Trieze could have _any _women …and often did! Even if he were engaged in a typical Christian union of the time, mistresses _never counted_.

…But that was just it, what was the point to _any_ woman? A man alone with himself could produce the same _technical results_ with a little imagination – it was the rules and boundaries that outlined a game that gave it any **fun.** …and how Godrick loved making rules and giving orders…

Trieze liked the obstacles… therefore, he liked sharing his love.

Godrick however, only yielded to the undeniable fact that he was already dedicated to another lover of his own – his sword. Accepting the reality that his frequent absence from the castle would make it impossible for his own will to dictate Trieze's conduct from afar – he settled on compromise out of guilt to his own inability to tend to _both_ duties, as had _always_ been the case.

Their lands, _**and**_ the lands of their allies, had indeed expanded a great deal in the years since; Godrick's frustration at having to leave his wife and her 'other husband' alone together being felt by any who dared face him as an enemy.

The cloth bundle steamed and smoked before catching alight in the fireplace where Trieze discarded it as he smoothly returned to nuzzle his love's face, softly purring with satisfaction.

"My brother sent word that he already has them with their backs to their gate…" Trieze nibbled affectionately on her ear as he softly spoke, "…which of course _**we**_ both know means he could be cracking open the best of their wine cellar in celebration, _**by now**_."

Aria smile glowed as she slid her arms under the black sheet of his hair, to wrap them around his neck and pull her self against him and into his enveloping embrace,

"I do hope that's true… it worries me so much when he's on the front for so long…"

"…Ah yes, how_ terrible_ it would be if you never had _any relief_ from _my_ affections at all!"

She laughed at that. It was true that Trieze's _endurance_ could sometimes be an issue – it once left her so weary that she demand him finish having his pleasures else where or else she would be _**forced **_to send complaint to Godrick; who would surly return with all haste and rage in such a case.

Trieze did make sure to_ try_ and be more attentive to her limitations from then on,

"You have been looking pale of late my dear… perhaps I should have food sent up?"

"No, I think I shall wait till the dinner hour –"

…Her chest suddenly convulsed in a cough.

"…Our Lady!" Trieze quickly snatched up the blankets scattered to the edges of the bed, "It would be dreadful indeed if you've caught a cold…I'll be blamed for sure!"

As selfish as his words were, Aria could hear the waver of deep concern in his melodic tone and see the glimmer of fear that had appeared in his eyes: Illness on any level was a very bad omen in deed in that time. She tried laugh at his fretting as he wrapped her in their downy warmth… but the coughing came again…

…her eyes froze with fear at the sight of the droplet of blood on the hand that had tried to contain their force.

Trieze, his own blue orbs wide, pulled her hand away to see for him self what the matter was in the firelight…

"…I will send for him at once; our children as well."

Trieze Khuβhrénir flew from the room calling forth his retainers and demanding the fastest messenger be roused at once and sent on his way…

…still dressed in nothing but spare sheet tied haphazardly about his waist. His sweat drenched locks, which now formed into snake like tendrils about his body, was all the formal regalia he ever needed…

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><p><strong>On the front lines…<strong>

Godrick Khuβhrénir's great sword smashed down through another man's helm and proceeded to cleave through the rest of his soft body – the poor craftsmanship of his armor allowing it to wrench apart as the blade drove down; hardly providing much of an obstacle once the initial metal barrier was breeched.

His own finely made armor covering only his right arm and side, leaving the left side of his torso bare to taunt his enemies in battle. His head was adorned with it's own solid helm and left arm hooked into a shield bearing the new family emblem; consisting of an Oak tree its branches split in two to embrace a golden egg containing a red dragon. A pair of full greaves protected his legs up to his thighs and a substantial armored 'belt' about his waist protected his own family_ 'jewels'_.

The sound of _**his army's**_ horns unexpectedly blaring out a retreat did not please the man one bit…

Godrick stormed into the circle of tents where a group of his commanders were huddled together with what looked like a messenger sent by his brother still gasping from his journey. His helm hit the ground and, ringing like a gong, bounced off to get its self lost,

"WHAT may I ask WAS THAT! Who is it that DARES to command MY men to retreat!"

"Your brother has sent word, my lord…"

"…MY BROTHER DOES NOT COMMAND MY ARMY…!"

"…your wife has fallen ill."

Godrick's rage came to a screeching halt. His blue eyes were wide as his shoulder length hair was whipped up by the wind.

He vaulted back onto his war horse and set off with all speed for home, not caring to take provisions or leave any orders and simply tearing the burdening armor from his steed as he flew across the hills.

* * *

><p><strong>In the Master Bedchamber Once More…<strong>

Trieze had been unable to bring him self to leave Aria's side as her condition worsened daily. Already lacking his brother's hard bulk of muscles he became even leaner, and his face gaunt. It was as if his life was draining away with hers.

When Godrick finally threw open the door, he too looked far from his normal undefeatable self having ridden non-stop since receiving the news. He struggled to detach the armor that still encased his arm and torso from the field and let it drop in a heap before rushing to the bedside.

"Aria…" He clasped her hand as he sat on the edge of the bed before desperately kissing her lips. Trieze who sat cross legged on the other side of her silently watched his brother greet their dying wife. "…I'm so sorry, I should never have left."

"It's not your fault brother; I doubt your presences would have made a difference…" Godrick's eyes hardened into cold diamonds as they shifted to regard Trieze.

"Well it's obvious YOURS didn't help."

"…Godrick…" Aria coughed and spent a few moments gasping to regain her breath, "…You know Trieze does his best, and if it weren't for your efforts our allies would not enjoy the prosperity they do now." Godrick bowed his head silently accepting the chastisement for his bitter words. The coughing came again, "I worry for you both, my husbands… I would hope after my passing something might see you understand each other better and bring peace between you… Spending a life endlessly warring is no life at all…"

Aria did not live to see the end of the week.

The two brothers remained by her side till, on the night of the lunar eclipse, her final breath passed from her lips and her body settled into its final rest…

…surely enough in their grief the two brothers turned on one another once more,

"…And DID you even take care of her? NO!"

"Well I'm not the one who WORRIED HER TO DEATH!"

Godrick was cradling Aria's cold body across his lap and let out a soft moaning wail; tears streamed down both brothers' faces.

Trieze could _almost feel the pain_ his words inflicted on his grieving brother, but he didn't care – Once again, Godrick was assuming just because emotions were so rare for him self that it was impossible for his brother to feel them as well.

It was not so however: Trieze lived in the world of emotions surrounded by their color and brightness at all times, controlling and being controlled by them in equal turn.

"Brother, I never will seek the pleasure of another woman. Perhaps you should watch me carefully and learn what _real_ love is like… But FINE, so be it!" Godrick finally brought himself to carefully lay their dead wife's body back as it was, "Have your "memorial" as you like!" he went to storm out the door preferring to take his grief else where.

"WAIT! BUT…!" Trieze was wearing a blue silken robe as he swayed, one hand extended as if to reach out to his brother, "…Will you not stay?"

Godrick scoffed and spat,

"Why? So I can watch you use **her **to glorify _yourself _AGAIN?" He turned his back on his brother, "I think NOT."

Trieze's arm dropped to his side, his shoulders slumped. He was alone again with Aria, his dead **love** …_their_ dead love.

…Things…were not as they should be… or at least not as they once were…

…and while the two brothers did spend nearly a month locked alone with their own grief – Godrick camping in the near by woods, Trieze unable to leave the bed he had shared with his wife (and brother).

They did eventually step outside their cells of grief to seek the things that once brought them pleasure…

**Godrick however**, after a day of hunting wild boars, found himself becoming increasingly troubled as it came nearer the time to seek out his bedroll and sleep…

…it was a warm wash that came over him – a strange thing indeed considering how cold and dead he'd been feeling for weeks – it slowly intensified and he could almost feel as though invisible hands were caressing him…

…it felt as though…

…His eyes went wide as somehow his instincts revealed the impossible truth. He ran to the castle with all speed…

"STOP!" Godrick literally smashed the bed room door into kindling (it was not the master bedchamber, but another chamber… his brother was not _**so**_ honor-less in such matters).

His brother, clad in nothing and poised to plunge, gave Godrick a slack-jawed stare.

"Excuse me?" he looked meaningfully at the nude woman beneath him, his hardened shaft but an inch from its goal, before glaring at his brother once more.

"You can't!" That made Trieze growl as he indignantly pushed him self back and sat up to face his brother fully.

"What do you mean I **can't**?" Godrick scooped up the pile that was obviously the woman's cloths and threw it over her face.

"Woman leave us!" The maid moved to quickly be gone, but Trieze caught her wrist as she struggled to re-dress.

"She will not! I do not go bursting onto YOUR battlefield and ordering YOUR men to go home!"

"As I do not DRAG you onto that battlefield and FORCE you to join in the fray!" Trieze's disbelief was back, had his brother truly gone insane?

"Drag? Force? BROTHER, you just came BURSTING in here! I never ASKED you! In fact I wasn't aware you even WANTED to come back to civilization so soon!"

Godrick closed his eyes and steadied his breaths, had it been a mistake? No he was sure… He drew forth his dagger. Trieze froze at the sight of the steel blade.

"Perhaps I am wrong, but…" he brought the blade to his own arm…

"Godrick… look I know how terrible it is that Aria is gone but you MUST get a hold of yourself!"

Godrick dug the tip in and quickly drew a thin red line across the top of his forearm, the pain it caused being nothing to him…

…Trieze shrieked! And clasped his OWN arm!

"WHAT THE…!"

"You see? If you take your pleasures with her… it would be as if I were taking pleasures with her, You CAN'T."

The Twin Brother's eyes remained locked as they both came to grips with this horrifying new obstacle before Trieze gave a frustrated growl and threw himself back, his hardness becoming more then uncomfortable,

"Then what would you have me do! Would you see me DIE from trying to contain myself?"

Godrick thought about it very deeply… he knew while he never enjoyed sharing himself so casually with the women who made up their court, Trieze did indeed LIVE for indulging in intimate pleasures…

…Godrick helped the maid finish re-dressing and once they were alone went to sit on the bed besides his moping brother...

"Trieze…"

Trieze propped himself up on one elbow to glare hatefully at him, but couldn't keep it up with the strange look that was in his eyes…

"What –?"

Godrick leaned forwards… he brought his right hand up to cradle the frame of Trieze's jaw… as his lips connected with his brother's.

The shock of the two fold back-feed of pleasure was more then enough to instantly nullify any protests Trieze would have otherwise given.

…The two brothers fell into a tangle of mirrored passions.

* * *

><p>YAY! And now THAT'S out of the way onto the ACTUAL ADVENTURE in ch3!<p> 


	3. Lunch Time

**Quest for the Khushrenada Blue Lotus Rose**

* * *

><p><strong>AC 197… October 31th… <strong>((Would be a familiar sequence if I were to have the epic finished, ::sigh:: gonna take a while longer it seems))

_The sun crested the eastern hill and its light finally streamed in through the partially opened curtain. Trieze squeezed his eyes tighter to attempt to block out the intrusion and stretched his arms out wide to either side seeking his lover's soft warm form. He sighed when he found nothing but more cold sheets which he turned and wrapped up in a hug anyways, inhaling the traces of her scent. _

_Of course Lady Une had already gotten up and left for the Preventors headquarters._

His eyes suddenly shot open and he twisted violently around in the bed and clasped a hand to his back!

Now sitting on the edge of the bed he wondered if he had really felt the burning sensation at all and looked back to see if he could determine any cause…

…there was nothing but the empty sheets and the shaft of sunlight that fell across them.

He swallowed hard as he got up from his bed, nude, and went into the bathroom to get ready for work himself.

Were his kidneys failing on him? It had been an awful lot of wine the night before and that was about where the pain had been…

He couldn't seem to stomach a breakfast even if he felt hungry.

* * *

><p><strong>A Friday at work… Lunch time_<strong>

One of the large halls of the former Romefeller headquarters had been converted into a cafeteria style lunch room for the new Preventors headquarters. It was just understood that the group of tables in the corner by the large windows were to be left empty for the former Gundam crew.

"You know… this really tastes bad…" Trieze had barely taken a bite.

"Well what did you expect after all that fancy food last night?" Duo was eating his way through his own generous portions.

"Did you manage to get yourself breakfast before coming in?" Une put a light hand on her fiancé's shoulder; they'd had a few long discussions about 'public restraint' in regards to affection ...mostly for Trieze's benefit.

Trieze sighed and took a big bite of the sandwich, knowing his true answer would result in an excessive amount of worry on Une's part.

"Yeah I…" he stopped suddenly and his face almost turned a pale green color.

"Trieze?" Une gasped concernedly as the others around the table (Noin, Milliardo, Duo, Heero and Wu Fei) stopped their own conversations to look at him.

Trieze quickly pushed himself up out of his seat and went sprinting across to the bathroom.

Noin gave Milliardo an expectant look,

"You'd better go see if he's ok…"

Milliardo almost growled,

"Why is it always ME?" he got up from his seat and went to follow Trieze's flight.

Milliardo pushed open the bathroom door with a sigh.

"Trieze…? Are you ok?" there was the sound of a toilet flushing and he went to lean against the sink outside the stall.

"Yeah I think I'm fine… you should… um… you should probably leave." Milliardo frowned Trieze did not sound like himself – his voice was shaky and strained.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to send a notice to Sally Po?"

"Yes and no. Just… please… get out of here, now." That made him even more worried and he stepped closer to the closed stall door.

"Trieze, I'm not sure what I've done to offend you but –"

The door was open – Trieze was flying at him and then had his teeth sunk deep into Milliardo's arm before the 'Lightning Count' even realized he was being interrupted!

Out in the main hall a pained male scream could be heard. Wu Fei, Duo and Heero exchanged alarmed looks: Was the war breaking out AGAIN? They took off to find out.

"AHH! WHAT THE FUCK TRIEZE?" Milliardo was grasping the profusely bleeding arm as Trieze cowered on the floor against the far wall.

"I need your help." Milliardo's jaw found a way to drop further open.

"Are you KIDDING ME? I was just offering to help and then you BITE my ARM? What is WRONG with you? Don't tell me that raw meat gave you rabies!"

"No! I'm sorry! I told you to leave!" Trieze was hyperventilating and he almost seemed to be trying to press himself back against the wall. "I _need_ to get back home, right now!"

"So GO! Why the hell do you need my help for that?" The three Gundam Pilots burst onto the scene.

"Oh gods…" Trieze curled into the fetal position with both his arms wrapped over his head. It had been bad enough when Milliardo had entered the bathroom, but it was then even worse when he had lost control and TASTED that salty royal wine. Now there were three fresh scents in the confined space and the raw aroma of Milliardo's bleeding arm was overpowering.

How had this even happened? It'd been over a year, he should have been in the clear!

"What the hell happened?"

"He BIT me!" While that caused Wu Fei and Heero to exchanged worried glances, Duo, in between the two, suddenly relaxed and started laughing.

"Oh come on you two… you don't really expect us to fall for this do you?" Milliardo's jaw hit the floor.

"Fall for what? My arm is BLEEDING!" Duo kept on laughing.

"Oh yeah, sure…and I bet Trieze ISN'T _pretending to be a _vampire." His laughter suddenly stopped as Wu Fei and Heero's eyes suddenly went wide and backed slowly away from him, retreating further into the bathroom and closer to Milliardo "What…? What's wrong?"

He suddenly felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck and realized that… Trieze wasn't curled on the floor in front of them any more... in fact he was no where in sight.

A smooth melodic voice came from directly behind his ear.

"Perhaps if you're so disbelieving… you should be the one to…help me."

Duo spun around, Trieze was standing behind him with a light grin on his face that was cast down causing his eyes to be shrouded in shadow.

"Hel–" He couldn't even finish the word before everything went dark.


	4. Into the Dungeon!

…**INTO THE DUNGEON! _**

**(This might get updated with edits)**

* * *

><p>Duo woke up very slowly and groggily.<p>

It felt like he had the worst crick in his neck ever! He went to stretch and fell out of the conference chair he had unceremoniously been dumped into when the group had gathered for the "Emergency" meeting.

"Oh good, your awake already." Sally crouched next to him, checked his pulse and then pulled out a doctor's light to check his eyes. "You should be careful not to get up too quickly or you'll pass out again."

Duo did his best to heed her advice as he pulled himself up into the chair.

"What happened…? Something was up with Trieze…" He looked around the large preventor's conference room, everyone was there even Relena… but no Trieze. "Where is he?"

There was a cough from the floor on the other side of the table.

Duo stood up and peered over; Trieze, shoulders to feet, was on the floor completely wrapped in chains like it was a metal cocoon. Wu Fei was dutifully sitting next to him with his katana propped over his heart, ready to plunge through one of the gaps between the chains. From the sheen of the metal he was almost sure the links were Gundamium.

"Whoa ok, this is like way overboard." He collapsed into his chair and went to rub his aching neck, his hand stopped when it touched the bandage that was wrapped around it and felt the warm wetness that was slowly soaking through. His eyes went wide and he stared at the redness that was left on his hand. "…He _actually _BIT me?"

"Now you see what I was I was saying…" Milliardo, sporting a bandaged arm, shook his head.

Une slammed a binder down on the table calling everyone's attention to the front; she was obviously thoroughly stressed by this strange turn of events: the Colonel was seeping back out.

"THIS is an emergency situation! We can not afford to waste any time! Now Trieze: What is going ON?"

Trieze scoffed indigently in his bonds.

"Well I could explain everything, if you'd just let me go…"

Milliardo's hateful glare burned,

"We are NOT letting you go! You almost KILLED Duo!"

"He's _obviously_ fine. I'm perfectly capable of controlling myself _now_."

A vein on Wu Fei's brow twitched; Heero and he were both blooming a number of bruises,

"If that's true Trieze… Then WHY did it take several hours of fighting and Une with** several** meters of Gundamium chain to get you to cooperate?"

Trieze put on his most innocent wide eyed expression,

"I was scared of what you were going to do to me!"

::FLASH TO CHIBI:: Trieze laughing maniacally casually holding Duo's limp body by the back of his shirt as he dodged Wu Fei's slashing katana and Heero & Milliardo's barrage of bullets with lightning speed… ::FLASH BACK::

"You didn't SEEM that scared!"

Trieze's pathetic expression only intensified,

"I have difficulties expressing myself emotionally…" That made the general room face-palmed with sweat drops all around: _Yeah Right._

A drop of blood fell from Milliardo's bandage and Trieze barely managed to worm out from under Wu Fei's blade and across the few feet in time to catch the stray fleck of precious liquid on his tongue.

Milliardo scowled down at the face that continued to beam innocently up at him before planting his boot on Trieze's back and shifting so that he was leaning on the edge of the table with his full weight holding the man pinned down.

"Now why don't you stop trying to get away and start answering some questions… like: How the hell you ended up an over grown leech?"

Trieze sighed heavily, his face pressed into the floor, he couldn't help thinking _'I was hardly _a leech _until you wrapped me up to look like one…'_

"Well at LEAST put me in a chair, will you?" The cocoon was shifted off the floor, the boys were careful to not get too close to his head. "Thank you. Much better… where to begin… you see I… might have cheated a little during the last battle…"

"His Honorable Excellency Trieze Khushrenada, Cheat? Nawww… Never…" Trieze gave Milliardo a hateful look of his own.

"…As I was saying! I knew the duty that I had to fulfill to the world might lead to a conflict with the duty I pledged to my dear Lady Une," That caused Une look down bashfully, "so I might have employed the use of a little… Family Medicine."

"Family Medicine?"

"Pagan was the one to suggest it actually…" Relena frowned and finally spoke up,

"Pagan? But he died?" Trieze chuckled,

"That's what everyone thought about Elvis too… really he just went home."

"So exactly what kind of crazy family medicine turns you into a vampire two years later?" Duo was interested.

"That's just it… it wasn't SUPPOSED to do that. I mean it WAS vampire's blood, but to drink it alone usually only has a temporary effect – it shouldn't _turn_ you into one. Pagan's been drinking it for hundreds of years and still can walk in the sunlight and eat human food, even if the vacuum of space has no effect on him at all."

"Do you mean to tell me that THIS is how you survived our duel? The one you virtually threw in my favor?" Trieze didn't meet Wu Fei's eye knowing he should be ashamed of himself.

"There is peace now, isn't there? That is what you _really_ wanted, isn't it?" Wu Fei crossed his arms over his chest and looked away obviously unhappy.

"So what do we do now? I mean you're stuck with it… should we be figuring out a way to seal you into that castle of yours so you can't hurt anyone?"

"That should not be necessary. There was a possibility of this kind of a side effect, though it was not expected to be this delayed. I hardly would have taken the risk if there wasn't a cure already."

"There's a cure for vampirism?"

"Why yes, you see… Somewhere, deep down in the catacombs below my castle there is kept the most precious and valuable family treasure… the only Blue Lotus Rose bush in existence. It was genetically crafted for generations to give it the attributes of the lotus flower, amanita muscaria and the Acacia tree along with a number of other carefully selected properties. The goal was to create the ultimate Soma… the cleansing and restorative effects it has on the blood and body of those who have been turned was an accidental discovery."

Quatre raised a hand politely,

"What would Soma be? And why is it such a treasure?" Trieze shifted a bit attempting to get more comfortable; a useless effort.

"Have you ever heard of The Rigveda? The text was written by priests in the north-west of India during the early Vedic era. They would undergo a sacred ceremony that required the use of a religious sacrament known as Soma. My clan was originally from that region, but left and headed further west when the Brahmins took it upon themselves to re-sculpt the most holy of rituals to leave out the precious psychoactive substance. It was one thing when the priest caste would alter the laws of mortals, but to make up a story of the gods simply because they felt they could not cultivate enough of the Soma to supply all their priests? That was just vein beyond toleration to those who put their lives on the line to conquer and expand the lands of their empire – the very cause of the want to change their holy traditions."

"So… How do we get it?" Trieze shrugged.

"Pagan would know, we'd have to go see him first."

"And how are you sure that this rose even exists?" Heero wasn't liking the sound of this little adventure Trieze was roping them into…

"Why, my father went down and retrieved one in order to have the perfect flower to propose to my mother with… took him a few weeks to find it if I recall…"

"A FEW WEEKS?"

"Well…. He never was very good at following directions and got lost more then a few times..."

::FLASH TO CHIBI:: (Sir) Godrick looks down at list of VERY simple directions, "Next step, Turn Right." Looks up at intersection, looks left, looks right, looks left again ...and sees a shiny object "OOOO! THAT'S PRETTY!" ...goes the wrong way. ::FLASH BACK::

"I'm sure with a capable group like ours it shouldn't take THAT long to find, especially since…" Trieze paused a strange look on his face, it was like there was something in his mouth… his eyes went a little wide before he slumped in his constricting bonds and spat something out, "…I haven't completely turned. I still should avoid sunlight as much as possible, has the sun set yet?"

Sally Po picked up one of the little white objects that had bounced down the table with a kerchief … they were Trieze's "human" canines.

* * *

><p>…<strong>what were we saying about wandering off?<strong>

Mariemaia sighed as the brief, uninformative, message from Lady Une finished playing on the answering machine. Besides the few servants that were around the house, it seemed she was going to be alone until Catherine and Hilde got back from their shopping trip.

"Oh well!"

She pulled the soccer ball (football for Europe and rest of the world) out of her backpack and began to run up and down the halls of the massive castle kicking it along with her and spiking it up stairwells – careful not to lose control and let it possibly damage the priceless antiques as well as the multitude of fancy shiny weapons that adorned the halls. It was good practice indeed…

…until the ball bounced a little too hard against her foot and after hitting the side of the hallway, went flying into one of the rooms off of it.

She was on the first floor in the central wing and at the very heart of the castle. As she timidly peered into the room fearing the worst, she was rather surprised by what she saw… the door to the central library…

…the old library…

…the library of which her father refused to go anywhere near after the events that had transpired within (read By the Roadway) and kept locked at all times with the key hanging from the handle 'just in case'…

…was open. The ball had rolled inside and she could see the light falling upon it.

She hesitantly pushed the door further open, extremely nervous. In the gloom she could barely make out the forms of the furniture and the shelves of books that coated the walls.

One step, two steps, three steps, four steps…

A few more and she finally reached the ball and picked it up breathing a sigh of relief and gathering her courage to turn around and leave the room that felt anything but welcoming – Three people had been gruesomely murdered there.

When she did, her scream caught in her throat.

A girl, who looked a little older then herself, was standing there; dressed only in a green night gown and her hair formed into a long braid with a golden filigree ring at the end…

…She was entirely covered in blood.

"_Can I play?"_


	5. A Little This A Little That

**Quest for the Khushrenada Blue Lotus Rose**

…**A Little of this, a Little of that._**

This is TECHNICALLY a part 1 of 2 chapter because I really didn't want to wait till part 2 was finished – so that's why the 1 X R scene will seem a bit disconnected until I get the next chapter posted that looks in on everyone else and then finally sets them off on the actual 'quest' into the dungeons.

* * *

><p>((Ugh, sorry about the delay; been in a bit of a mood of late that hasn't been conducive to writing 'happy-happy joy-joy'… Next chapter will be back to that more.<p>

By The Way: I'm not really trying to make any points here using either Zechs or Milliardo… it's just Milliardo has to many syllables sometimes – things like that play a role in making it flow better when reading it out loud.

_Hey, anyone interested in pulling together a site that would do "Fanfictions on 'Tape'" (mp3 really)? I know there is a big draw for regular books on tape(CD), maybe it would be cool to do dramatic readings of mine and other's works – only question being: do I have author's pay for it to be transcribed, users for it to be heard, or advertisers for them to pretend like they're earning a business money?_

_**Also I'm kinda surprised that so many people like this despite its fluffy absurd nature…**__ then again, too serious and you have to be in a serious mood to read it…which would explain the phenomenon… _

_For those who are keeping track of By The Roadway__, I've gotten half of the battle with Wu Fei/Zechs and the Mobile dolls done… its REALLY HARD to do what I do when there are two Gundams with such varied fighting tactics and ANY time Wing Zero is fighting it's hard not to wonder why he doesn't just blast everything away with the beam cannon; cuz lets face it, that WOULD seem like the most sensible way to fight! But it's not interesting in the least so that strategy is RIGHT OUT! The scene with Quatre and Crew is also partially complete – again switching back and forth between how a bunch of sentry dolls would_ _react and a couple of people running around with grappling hooks can really stretch the tactical, visual and verbal imagination to it's limits… probably why there aren't a lot of Gundam Wing fanfictions that actually focus on the fighting descriptions as much as the interpersonal drama… I'd love to hear about/check out any you know of!_!))

* * *

><p><strong>AC 197_<strong>

It was a good thing Zechs knew how to drive the Hum-V Gundam as it allowed them all to fit in one vehicle – including the Gundamium Trieze Cocoon with Lady Une, in the trunk.

They weren't that far from the castle now,

"Lady… you're not really going to let _my_ _daughter_ see me all tied up like this…are you?"

"Hmm…"

Lady Une thought about it deeply. She already had put a considerable amount of time into thinking about how foolish she was for not trying this before! Trieze did have a tendency to be a bit too domineering in bed, and Gundamium chain already seemed to be working very well at evening out the odds...

"NO!"

"Don't do it!"

"He's just trying to eat you!"

Lady Une smiled, her face cast down so her eyes were cloaked in shadow,

"Boys… really I think I know how to keep my own fiancé in line… whatever he's turning into…" She pulled forth her pistol and cocked it.

"Uh, remember how we already tried that… A LOT." Milliardo was looking very concerned in the rear-view mirror.

"No, you tried shooting AT him… what we didn't try..."

She moved so that she was straddling Trieze and leaned down so that she was only a few inches from his face, her voice changing completely to "Saint" Une…

"…Honey, dearest… If you so much as nick the skin… _anyone's skin,_ and try and drink someone's blood… _anyone's blood,_ without my _express_ permission?"

…She brought the gun up to her own temple; her face lifted revealing eyes alight with that utterly insane look of complete devotion...

"...I'll shoot myself! You know I will, because I love you Mr. Trieze. I love you so very, very much! And I would hate to let you do something that might damage your esteemed reputation!"

She put a hand against his cheek as he stared at her horrified – he KNEW she was NOT bluffing at the moment, "Good, now that that's clear… are you going to behave yourself if I let you out?"

Trieze took a deep breath – the intoxicating scent of blood filling his senses,

"You know what… I… I kind of like being all wrapped up…I think I'll just stay like this…"

The look of pure demonic pleasure on Une's face at those words made him **even more** worried.

"You have no idea _how_ _glad I am_ to hear that!"

She unlocked the chains anyways, knowing her threat had done its work. Even so Trieze dared not move in case he was overwhelmed by the ever growing hunger that was constantly taunted by the proximity of the throbbing of each beating heart.

They had just turned in the driveway when Milliardo suddenly slammed on the breaks.

"Mari? What the hell…!"

That made Trieze sit up straight and stare out the front windshield – Sure enough his daughter was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest in the middle of the driveway a good distance from the castle staring in a state of shock (but not from the fact she had just almost been run over). He quickly shook the rest of the chains loose and exited out the back hatch, purposely moving slowly so as not to alarm her.

"Mari! What are you doing out here! Are you ok?" He knelt down next to her as one or two of the others opened their doors to get a better look.

"I…I…I…" She turned her head to look at him, her eyes still wide, "...I…I saw…I saw a..." She suddenly seemed to snap to life, "I didn't mean too! I swear! The ball just went in there! I don't even know how the door was open to begin with! I SWEAR! It's not my fault!" Mariemaia was virtually crying now.

Trieze, bracing himself, pulled the girl into a hug… strangely though it wasn't as hard to resist the smell of his own blood that ran in her veins,

"Hush, hush, its ok Mari I'm sure I can forgive you some how… now what exactly happened?" Mari sniffed a few times before she was finally ready to go on.

"I was practicing my dribbling inside, like you always tell me not to… and the ball managed to get away from me, like you always say it will… but I didn't break anything! And the door was already open!"

"Okay, okay… so you were doing something you weren't supposed to… and which door would this be?"

Mari looked down and tried to answer as quietly as possible, a useless effort with her father's currently heightened senses.

"…the old library…"

No matter what, the mentioning of the place made his blood run cold and his stomach turn over wanting to be even emptier then it was.

"So the door was open, and your ball went inside…" Trieze could almost guess what was coming next.

"…yeah… well I was just going to get it and then lock the door again… but when I turned around… this girl was just STANDING there…!"

"…Dressed in a green night gown, long braided hair, gold ring… & I can guess lots of blood as well." His voice faded into a hoarse whisper.

His daughter's eyes went wide,

"You've seen her too!"

Trieze shook his head slowly… sadly,

"Never… Not after she passed that is. Did… she say anything?"

Trieze was actually suddenly feeling more like crying then going back into the HVG and indulging in the pulsing liquids of the various occupants.

"She asked to play? I kinda just freaked out and ran here." The little girl looked down.

"Mari, now I know it was very scary… but she probably was just curious – you are the first child to be in the castle in years. You have nothing to be afraid of, alright?"

The headlights of the car Catherine and Hilde used to go shopping came up behind the HVG,

"Hey! What's going on here?"

It seemed it was a good time to go inside… Trieze picked up his daughter in his arms and held her close as he got back in for the short journey up the remaining drive to the front door – her scent blocking out the others filling the car.

It was obvious the group was not assured by Une's methods of 'domination'…

…Except for Quatre, whom had to shift onto Trowa's lap to make room for the two and really wasn't aware of much else. (^_^)

_((Almost posted just that as a chapter, but that's kind of way too serious for this story… MORE FUN HALLOWEEN FACTS; To many pagans of the world the date on which Halloween originally fell (which is approximate to the 31__st__) is in fact the New Year… The 30__th__ being the last day of the old, the 1__st__ being the first day of the new, and the 31__st__ being the day in between 'years' hence why things that were of 'between worlds' or 'not of this world' were believed to join among us and be able to have a real effect on our world, just as it is a time when we can have the most effect on theirs… _

_SO it's like real magic! Sort of! Except vampires don't exist, we all know this, but I did spend a year in an intensive text-based free-form style RPG playing a Vampire character. So I tend to be picky about my vamp-rules… a.k.a. NO SPARKELS or babies… unless they are eating babies…Muahahahaa! Bram Stoker's Dracula anyone? All I'm saying is have fun with wikipedia ^_~ and donate, cuz that guy is chill.)) _

* * *

><p>(((Goes more with the next chapter, but oh well…)))<p>

The group had parted ways in the main entrance hall; it seemed foolish to begin a potentially perilous journey without the proper supplies and rest…

**Relena and Heero…**

"Heero, I really doubt that someone would attempt to assassinate me in Trieze's Castle. Maybe if you're so concerned for my safety you should just stay in here tonight instead of sleeping next door?"

Heero paid Relena no mind as he continued to dutifully go over every inch of the room to ensure there were no dangers lurking for the princess.

"I'm sure your brother would be pleased to find out about that." Relena could only sigh; supposing that having convinced the taciturn ex-pilot to agree to get engaged at all was enough of an accomplishment. Heero finished his nightly duty and went to exit the room with his usual thorough flourish, "Good night, Relen–" the door didn't budge.

Heero took his hand from the knob examining it closely and even crouching down to peer through the key hole before attempting the maneuver again. The handle dropped, the door didn't open. He leaned back as hard as he could and wrenched on the door handle attempting to budge the solid oak construction.

It didn't seem like anyone was holding it shut and he went to check again; paying closer attention to the latch this time as he turned the handle – handle dropped, latch retracted, but door continued to remain immobile.

"What's wrong?" Relena was simply confused at his hesitation.

"I don't know… I can't get out." He stepped back from the door trying to find a solution to the odd dilemma.

((…and we'll get back to all that later… For right now we're going to move on to…

Well…

…I mean if you thought Trieze K was cute at 5yrs old in ch2 TPoYI… ^_^))

* * *

><p><strong>AC 158… Young (Sir) Godrick the 8<strong>**th**

The beautifully sculpted marble ballroom in the East Wing sparkled with the glint of gold and silver amid brightly colored cloth that adorned the wealthy Aristocrats that filled the vast space – the dancing Ladies' dresses fluttering like crumpled wrapping-paper being tossed on the wind.

"…Sons of his lordship Trieze Khushrenada the 12th!" the hall crier dutifully bowed finishing the announcement of the two boys; the 7 year old Godrick and his 15 year old brother Dermail.

"Ah! There you two are! What on earth took you so long? We're in _our own_ home for our Gods sake!"

Their father, Trieze 12th, slid through the crowd dressed in his signature blue formal attire. He always insured his short cropped hair stayed swept back with only a pair of his mahogany strands falling over his brow.

"Little Godrick here couldn't seem to be satisfied with his appearance and wouldn't be hurried, despite my best efforts. He's worse then Mother!"

Trieze 12th gave a heavy sigh looking over his youngest son and chosen heir.

He couldn't help his bemused smile as he shook his head knowingly – even so young, a lot more was evident in Godrick's impeccable sense of style (down to the perfect symmetry of the blue bow that restrained his shoulder length russet hair) then simply the time consumed to satisfy it.

The Gods **did** always know how to punish a father for breaking with the Traditional order of things…

"Well no matter! Dermail, you see that man over there wearing the red sash? You should go introduce yourself; he knows quite a lot about how to build a good investment portfolio. I'm sure he can help you with your studies a lot more then General like myself ever could."

The one day 'Duke Dermail' set off to do as he was told. Trieze 12th glanced around showing a flash of nervousness as he ran a white gloved hand through his short hair before kneeling so he could be on level with Godrick and unheard by the party goers around them,

"Godrick… you do look wonderful by the way… but I need you to do me favor – rather I have a mission for you, as I doubt anyone else would be better suited for it: Marquise Wallace's young girl got into a bit of a pout over some insignificant matter or another. I'm sure you understand how that is. I'm afraid that Pagan still hasn't been able to track down that **Laceit'or** which got loose a few days back." He took him firmly by both shoulders, their matching blue eyes locked, "You must find her _and quickly_! She went that way into the gardens, now be swift my boy!"

Godrick the 8th without a word drew the child-sized saber, with a bronze engraved and brush-finished hand-guard, at his side to give a salute before re-sheathing it. Trieze 12th stood up and watched him set off for the doorway to the gardens; sighing once again at how perfectly the blue and gold lacquered sheath (with white edging that Godrick had managed to find _somewhere_ in their _extensive_ collection) coordinated with the formal attire that was a miniature mirror of his father's own.

'_No wonder they were so late…'_

Five year old Alicia Wallace's cheeks were still wet and her eyes still red and raw from tears. It had only taken a few minutes for the tranquil beauty of the eastern garden, full of lilac, honeysuckle and roses, to seep in past her distress and draw her out from under the hedge where she had hid from her father's search. She sat on the fountain's edge and plucked the stray leaves that had clung to her gown and set them a drift in the upper pool of the marble water-feature; watching them plummet off the edge and get churned beneath the surface of the larger lower pool.

She was sure her cousin might be feeling bad by now, but wasn't sure if she could apologize for getting so upset. Cecily was her _favorite _cousin. They had always had so much fun together whenever she came to visit; which was often. _Was_, often… for now that Cecily had gotten married her husband rarely approved of her traveling.

Alicia had been so excited to finally see her after what seemed like forever and had hoped she might be able to entice her cousin into coming to stay once more, but her joy had quickly been crushed now that she had 'met' her 'new cousin' Cecily. She was miserable most of the time now and willingly admitted it, but when the confused little girl had asked why Cecily kept on smiling anyways the answer she gave had sent Alicia fleeing in tears: _"You'll understand one day when you're married too."_

Alicia gasped and turned sharply causing her dark red curls to swing out wide before settling around her face, she relaxed a little when it was only a young boy and not one of the servants from her father's 'search party'.

He bowed before returning to an attentive stance.

"Would you be the daughter of Marquise Wallace?"

Alicia's eyes narrowed and she turned to skip over and up onto a low stone wall before she crossed her arms over her chest giving the boy a sour look.

"Who exactly wants to know?"

The boy wasn't quite sure to do with her defensive attitude and stuck to what he knew bowing again,

"I am Godrick Trieze Khushrenada the 8th, this is my family's estate – if you are not Lady Wallace then I should warn you that it's not wise to be out here by yourself."

Alicia dropped her defensive stance and looked back over her shoulder into the darkness before she took a few steps along the wall bringing her closer to the light cast out by the vast arched windows of the hall.

"W…why is that?"

Hiding his grin at having gotten through her guard so easily, Godrick looked down at a golden fob watch he kept in his right pocket,

"I don't know if I have the time to say more… my father insists I must find Lady Wallace right away."

Alicia gave an exasperated sigh.

"I am Alicia Wallace, _Lady_ Wallace is my mother. You," She said sticking her nose up in the air, "May call me Alicia. Now, why is it that _I_ shouldn't be wandering around by myself when _you_ came out here all alone?" She thought she had him there!

Godrick gave her his most charming smile as he moved to join her standing on the wall,

"Well… Alicia… that is the whole point of my father sending me out here, you see. No one can really consider themselves to be 'alone' out here, that's why it isn't safe for you to be by yourself right now." Alicia frowned.

"But how can I be 'by myself' if I can't be 'alone'?"

That did cause Godrick to stop and wonder; even if he knew the answer, it was indeed a strange dilemma. He drew his saber and with a quick flick of his wrist, beheaded a yellow rose from one of the bushes and sent it tossing into the air as he sheathed the blade before casually extending a hand to catch it. His deep blue eyes opening to lock with her brilliant green orbs as he held out the small token.

Seeing the luscious petals of the moon-lit flower reminded her of the extravagant folds of her cousin's wedding dress and she turned to hide her face and quick stepped away from Godrick – But before he could feel the sting of her unintentional rejection a loose stone gave way under her foot and sent her tumbling towards the thorny tangle.

Godrick's hand grabbed onto her flailing arm, but she was too far gone to be pulled back without sending her into the equally thorny bushes on the other side!

He did the best that he could in the moment and threw himself out in front of her – protectively clutching her close as they crashed down together through the shredding branches. They lay there a moment before he dared loosen his hold and allow Alicia to lift her head from his chest.

"Are you alright?"

"Are you?" She gasped as she took in the damage that had been done, she had barely felt the grabbing bite of the thorns but they had torn several gashes through the thick cloth of Godrick's formal jacket and blood was already blooming from a myriad of small wounds. "Oh no, your bleeding!"

Godrick tried to push the fierce warnings his father had given him about the dangers even the smallest cuts could bring as he continued to put on a brave face for his Lady.

"As long as you're fine; it's nothing, really."

They carefully crawled out from under the rose bush and Godrick once again had to try not to panic as he assessed the utterly tattered and disheveled state of his uniform; both pants and jacket shredded, his hair had been torn free of it's restraining bow, his tall boots were scuffed and nicked and blood was indeed starting to flow from all over his back, arms and legs.

He took solace in the fact that his Lady, Alicia, had indeed been saved any major harm; her dress only slightly torn and dirtied, her hair undisturbed from its curling locks and not a scratch on her pale skin.

"I guess we should go inside and see if we can get you cleaned up… I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be, it's not something you should –" Godrick stopped suddenly as he heard a rustling in the foliage across the small rock garden they were now in and drew his saber pulling Alicia back behind him. "Don't move a muscle…" sure enough there was that odd crackling noise he'd heard drifting through the door in the wine cellar on many occasions…

* * *

><p>(((DUM DUM DOOOOM! Yeah I'm evil with my cliff-hangers! =P)))<p> 


	6. Alicia In Wonderland

Just for kicks... here's this whole mini-story of Sir Godrick and Alicia and the Rose bush he saved her from!

* * *

><p><strong>AC 158 – What makes a Sword 'Vorpal'?<strong>

Last time... on Quest for the Khushrenada Blue Lotus Rose...

_Seeing the luscious petals of the moon-lit flower reminded her of the extravagant folds of her cousin's wedding dress and she turned to hide her face and quick stepped away from Godrick – But before he could feel the sting of her unintentional rejection a loose stone gave way under her foot and sent her tumbling towards the thorny tangle._

_Godrick's hand grabbed onto her flailing arm, but she was too far gone to be pulled back without sending her into the equally thorny bushes on the other side!_

_He did the best that he could in the moment and threw himself out in front of her – protectively clutching her close as they crashed down together through the shredding branches. They lay there a moment before he dared loosen his hold and allow Alicia to lift her head from his chest._

_"Are you alright?"_

_"Are you?" She gasped as she took in the damage that had been done, she had barely felt the grabbing bite of the thorns but they had torn several gashes through the thick cloth of Godrick's formal jacket and blood was already blooming from a myriad of small wounds. "Oh no, your bleeding!"_

_Godrick tried to push the fierce warnings his father had given him about the dangers even the smallest cuts could bring as he continued to put on a brave face for his Lady._

_"As long as you're fine; it's nothing, really."_

They carefully crawled out from under the rose bush and Godrick once again had to try not to panic as he assessed the utterly tattered and disheveled state of his uniform; both pants and jacket shredded, his hair had been torn free of it's restraining bow, his tall boots were scuffed and nicked and blood was indeed starting to flow from all over his back, arms and legs.

He took solace in the fact that his Lady, Alicia, had indeed been saved any major harm; her dress only slightly torn and dirtied, her hair undisturbed from its curling locks and not a scratch on her pale skin.

"I guess we should go inside and see if we can get you cleaned up… I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be, it's not something you should –" Godrick stopped suddenly as he heard a rustling in the foliage across the small rock garden they were now in and drew his saber pulling Alicia back behind him. "Don't move a muscle…" sure enough there was that odd crackling noise he'd heard drifting through the door in the wine cellar on many occasions…  
><strong><br>…the bushes across from them began to quiver and shake violently. **At first it seemed that whatever creature approached them was shoving some sort of large tangle of vines before it as the first thorny tendrils broke through the leafy wall.

Then, as they began to slap down and dig into the ground with the inch and a half long spikes that covered the appendages dragging the mass forwards, it became clear that the thorny tangle WAS the creature! Its massive wilted and crushed rose-like head, easily over a foot across, thrust forwards then sank to ground level like a dog sniffing out a trail, it's eyes were a pair of black beetles that had nestled in between the layers of petals as the strange clicking and crackling sound continued.

It was as if a shark, thinking itself a porcupine, wore it's teeth on the outside and had a vicious love affair with a landcrawling octopus flower, producing an offspring possessing_ far more _then 8 legs.

A raspy hiss blew forth from it's heaving nine fruit-like, red-vein encased, orange sacks (which one could only assume were lungs) sprouting from the thick core stalk. Then, it reared up and gave what could only be the most nightmarish smile in the world... the crackling sound finally explained as its densely needle-coated maw flexed open and the rows of teeth, going back as endlessly as a rose's petals, shifted from side to side clicking away as they rubbed against one another.

Godrick felt Alicia's grip on his tattered jacket tighten in fear.

"Is that thing real?" she whispered in breathless exclamation!

"Let's just pretend it is..." he swallowed hard trying to not choke his grip on his blade.

"What? Either it is or it isn't!" she was frantically hoping she'd just hit her head and would wake up any second now.

"Shh! Now you **MUST** hold still, I'm going to move over there..."

"Don't leave me!" Alicia clamped down even harder shrinking into her shoes.

"I wont! I promise: Never ever. It's after the blood on me, you'll be invisible if you just hold still. Let go."

He let out a sigh of relief when she did... it was really the exhale before a deep breath of fortitude. He threw himself to the right, attempting an awkward diving roll on the pebble covered ground to draw its shredding limbs far away from Alicia as quickly as possible.

The Laceit'or's head swung around and it's body began to tumble towards him; a few leading tentacles whipping out as if trying to catch a taste of whatever was in front of it. Godrick gave it the best 'taste' he could slicing through their reach and causing the ends to drop like squirming tooth covered worms.

Feeling no pain, the creature simply whipped out along the ground from either side too quickly for him to bring his blade to bear on both; catching him by the right ankle and yanking him painfully from his feet as the thorns bit into him. For a terrifying second Godrick felt as if the monster was tugging on the very thread of his soul, trying to suck it from him through the wound on his ankle.

As more razor-straw covered tendrils prepared to envelop him, he kept a firm hold of his fear resisting the urge to desperately hack away at the threatening mass; thrusting straight and true to slide the tip of his blade against it's stem of a neck,

"Off with your head." he gritted a grin, flicking his wrist and quickly retracted the sharpened steel allowing it to smoothly separate the blossom like top from the rest of the tangle.

The plant creature slumped to the ground over him as the head tumbled down still crackling away as it came to rest not far from Alicia's feet.

"Godrick!" she rushed forwards to try and free him from the spiky prison; but couldn't touch it without slicing her hands.

"Don't! Leave it be, I'm fine for now. You have to go find Pagan, my father's manservant, and bring him back here, tell him to bring steel gloves. I can't get a swing enough to cut through." He was trying to at least sever the thick vine wrapped around his ankle. It was hard going since the once flexible outgrowth was hardening as the carcass oozed a thick red substance from the tips of its hollow thorns.

Accidentally tasting some that dripped onto his lips, he realized it was salty, iron-rich, blood. He worked faster as Alicia rushed off to do as she was told.

* * *

><p><em>...Inside the Ballroom...<em>

Trieze Godrick Khushrenada the 12th threw back his head in an exaggerated laugh, feigning amusement at his wife's 'quaint' little story along with the rest of her social acquaintances. Carmilla, his wife wearing a Victorian-gothic maroon and gold dress, flashed him a glare noticing his forced exuberance.

"My sweetest darling, wont you take this dance with me?" Trieze entreated finishing the rest of his drink; already enveloping her in his half-cape and herding her towards the swirling waltz of people. She barely had a chance to bluster out a 'pardon me' to the group they had been engaged in.

"What's wrong _darling_? Are _you _jealous of a little harmless flirting? With all women you sleep with?" she hissed as he led them into the throng and fell into place amongst the other nobles dancing there.

"I would sleep with only one woman, if she would only let me. Instead, she tries at every turn to make me envious and lusting." He retorted.

"As if I want anything to do with a man who's sampled every whore in Europe." She curled her lip in a snarl.

"You refused me first, what choice have I had?" He swung her down in a dip.

"How about the choice to keep your promise?" There was a strange edge to her voice, the light of something else in her eye, as Carmilla spoke. He knew full well she wasn't referring to their wedding vows and nearly dropped her on the marble floor.

"Why should I keep a promise when you will simply break yours if I do?" he asked keeping his calm.

"How do you know I will break it if you don't keep yours first?" her tone melodic and teasing...

The two continued to waltz away as Pagan watched, sighing, from the edge of the large hall. He felt a sharp tug on his pant leg and looked down to see a young lady, Alicia Wallace if he wasn't mistaken, staring pleadingly up at him.

"Mr. Pagan sir? Godrick says you need to bring steel gloves, he's trapped and I think he could be hurt!"

Pagan looked swiftly around to see if anyone had over heard before ushering her to lead the way.

* * *

><p>It hadn't taken long to heave the prickly cage off Godrick once Pagan arrived.<p>

Removing the anklet, of the now tough, leathery appendage, was a much more laborious task with the added bonus of the thorns digging deeper into his flesh every time it was moved. Dutifully he bottled his cries as Alicia held his hand, kneeling next to him with her head resting against his shoulder, her face turned away from the painful sight of Pagan working to snip through the blood-gushing vine with a pair of garden clippers.

"This one got away for far too long, it probably would have returned on it's own in another day considering how full it's gotten." He eased each of the four segments off of Godrick's ankle and slowly worked his punctured boot off to see about dressing the wound temporarily.

"Full on blood you mean? I wonder where it got it all..." he cringed from the thought and Pagan tightening the knot in the cloth he'd wrapped around to staunch the flow.

"Forest animals... mostly." having seen to the young heir he adorned the steel gloves once more and started to snip away at the thorny mass in the middle of the clearing.

"What is that thing doing here anyways!" Alicia helped Godrick up onto his feet.

Pagan turned to regard the girl with a pleasant smile as if this was some normal evening gardening lesson,

"They were once an effective anti-siege defense, now they're just a nuisance. Awaken one and it only takes a few wounded among the enemy's camp to draw it out, should it return..." Pagan snipped off one of the now swollen fluid filled 'fruits', "...it will awaken more, re-root and multiply. You two should probably get inside and cleaned up before somebody sees you like that, I can take care of the rest here."

Eager to get away from the gory scene, Alicia let Godrick direct her to a servant's entrance that would allow them to avoid the ballroom and the myriad of guests.

...Pagan piled the nine blood filled sacks to the side to save them as he worked to break apart the rest of the Laceit'or corpse.

* * *

><p><em>...Godrick's Room...<em>

...was a rather puzzling experience the first time she entered it; mostly because it looked, with a few alterations, _exactly_ how she wished she could keep her room!

There were paintings of fantastical scenes of dragons, winged unicorns, knights and frolicking nymphs right along with famous classics of the Northern Germanic Renaissance and Impressionist landscapes. The four-poster bed was surrounded by a blue and gold curtain and each and every counter/surface featured a vase of fresh flowers tastefully coordinated with the art around it. But what drew her attention the most, and made her forget the harrowing experience they'd just had, was the bookshelf...

...he had every fairytale ever published, re-published, in large fully illustrated tomes. Telling from the level of detail that had been put into the pages of his personalized copy of "Alice in Wonderland" lying open on the reading table, it had cost a lot of money to fill those shelves with the leather bound treasures. Distracted from the task at hand she was pouring over its colorful pages – It had always been Alicia's favorite too!

"Godrick this is amazing! Did your mother pick the flowers? Did you get to pick the paintings? I wish my parents would give me a library like this... I haven't even heard of some of these! "

"My parents didn't have anything to do with it, have you ever tried asking your family servants to do things for you? They have to listen you know."

She giggled at the thought,

"No, I haven't tried." continuing to turn the pages on the custom volume.

"Would you like to borrow them sometime?" he knelt awkwardly next to her with his still hurting ankle.

"Your family servants?" she asked wide eyed.

It was Godrick's turn to giggle,

"No silly, The books!"

"Oh," she blushed, "That would be very kind of you. Um, we should get you out of all those tattered cloths..." she added noticing his bloodied & injured self once more. He nodded and crossed to the large bathroom...

...Trieze the 12th came down the hall once Pagan had a chance to notify him of the Laceit'or's 'capture'. He only knocked twice before pushing open his son's door,

"Godrick? Were you able to find –" he was stopped short seeing Alicia... kneeling on the floor in front of Godrick holding a washcloth, staring back over her shoulder the picture of wide eyed innocence... as his son stood dressed only in his underwear looking as equally guiltless leaning against the frame of the bathroom door grimacing slightly from the pain in his ankle. It was too much for his intoxicated father as he burst into a fit of laughter rushing back down the hall, "Pagan! PAGAN! Go get the good Champagne! I _DO_ HAVE _TWO _SONS!"

The two children looked at each other completely oblivious to what he'd found so funny.

* * *

><p><em>...later that night... ((remember, secret crossover!))<em>

...After the guests had all gone home, and his father had retired with a bottle of scotch to his own bedroom, Godrick was curled up in the bed of his darkened room reminiscing wistfully on the adventure that night... when an evil creature crept into his room...

His eyes opened at the sound of the heavy cloth surrounding his bed being pulled back. He didn't even have a chance to cry out before the blanket's comforting warmth was torn away and he found himself shoved along by the scruff of his neck, barely able to get his feet under him as his mother, Carmilla, wordlessly escorted the struggling boy down the long stonework halls.

His efforts proved futile as they descended down the darken stairway into the expansive wine cellar, then through a heavy barred door to where the first set of prison cells on the upper most level of the castle's dungeons had been converted into an 'overflow' cellar by adding racks on either side of each locking cubical. Still, he tried to sobbingly plead with the woman as she clamped closed the shackles around his wrists before spinning on her high heel and slamming the iron door shut behind herself; leaving him alone in the dark as if deft to his cries.

Godrick the 8th slumped, chained to the back wall of the cage, barely able to put his feet on the ground, hanging his head as tears continued to leak past his long lashes. Despite the discomfort of his position sleep eventually over took him... until a crackling noise jerked him alert.

No, no, not again! Not another one here, where he was unarmed and unable to defend himself stuck like a fly on the wall! He tucked his blood-soaked-bandaged encased ankle back up behind himself as if he could smother the smell of it. Out in the darkness of the bar-lined corridor between the holding cells, he could see the first thrashing spike covered feelers past the corner of the wine rack... followed by that terrible wilted head bobbing from side to side just off the ground.

It was drawn towards him, stretching out with its tentacles that could barely brush against him with their rose scented wind... before it shrank back... and a different, more solid, tall, dark form, wearing a full black cloak, with moon-pale skin and pure white short-cropped hair, stepped out to stand in front of the cell door. One of Meier's armored claw hands reached out to rest on an iron bar, his red eyes shining in the darkness.

"Now... what would my castle's heir be doing in his own dungeon?" his deep voice asked a wide eyed Godrick the 8th...

...It was nearly dawn when Trieze the 12th, was just finishing the last of the scotch and finally bayed his partners that night farewell, giving them each a kiss and an extra cash-bundle tip at the front door. Stretching and yawning he decided that it was probably time he get some sleep. He was half way back to his room going up a flight of steps when he stopped and let out a long sigh, remembering he needed to double-check something.

Sure enough, going down into the wine cellar with a lamp, he found his younger son curled up in the corner of one of the holding cells; his head now resting on an embroidered pillow on the otherwise bare floor... aside from the broken iron shards and twisted links Trieze paid no mind to.

"Again? I have to do something about that woman, Godrick..." he gave another yawn as he drunkenly fumbled with the key he'd brought with him before it finally found its place and unlatched the door, "Well... Come along my little girl, lets get you back to bed." He gently pick the boy up his arms and carried him back out of that dark place.

"I'm not a girl..." he groggily protested burying his face against his fathers strong chest and inhaling the musk of alcohol and sweat.

"Whatever you say deary." they eventually reached Godrick's room.

"Father," he timidly asked after he'd been tucked back under his sheets, "...what if she comes back again?"

"Godrick..." He sighed plaintively feeling the fatigue of the night.

"Please! Don't go..." Tears started to well up in Godrick's blue eyes; with his russet hair hanging free about his finely featured face, complete with its elegantly forked brow, it might as well have been a young daughter begging him.

Giving up, Trieze climbed in along side his son and wrapped his arms around Godrick as he cuddled up against his chest once more.

"Goodnight, Little girl." he yawned.

"I'm not a little girl... you said so." Godrick whined sleepily.

That brought a grin to Trieze's face remembering the scene from earlier and he chuckled,

"That's right... I did say that, didn't I?" he gave his son a kiss on the top of his long haired head, before they both fell asleep after a too-eventful night.

* * *

><p><em>...it was a few years later that Trieze Godrick the 12th finally did 'do something' about 'that woman'...<em>

His father didn't even bother to check the baggage that was coming with them as it was loaded into the limo's trunk. Carmilla and his shuttle would be leaving for a 'vacation' in the colonies within the hour. Godrick stood stoney faced beside Pagan to see his father off, Dermail was still on a trip in Africa visiting the Lake Victoria region.

"Here Godrick, these are yours to look after now, I'm sure you'll be able to handle it... just please, if your going to rearrange the furniture – don't throw out the antiques. No matter how tasteless their style, is that clear?" Trieze tucked a set of leather log books – the estate planner and schedules under his young heir's arm. "Now when it's time, Pagan will take you to Marquise Wélige's estate and he'll help you get all of the finances transferred over properly, okay?"

Godrick nodded, unable to think of anything to say as his father so matter-of-factually went about preparing for his own death.

Carmilla was planning to make her move finally and use the opportunity to poison him, then put Dermail in place to inherit the major family wealth and property. Trieze had every intention to let her, poison him that is, and then wanted to personally ensure she would not be able to escape and complete her plans to attempt to eliminate the Khushrenada title from the Earth's bloodline. As a General who'd already sent his share of men to die, he was ready to give up his mortal toil for his descendent's future.

"Trieze! Will you hurry?" It was Carmilla coming out the front door, spotting the leather books she added "Ugh, don't tell me Godrick's gone and gotten more of those _fairy tales_ published again!" she stuck her nose in the air sweeping past the two.

"Yeah," Trieze said with an odd smile dawning on his face as he looked down at his son for the last time, knowing that the bitch was finally getting her due, "I think this time its one he is writing..."

As Godrick Trieze the 8th thought about those words, clutching the leather planners to his chest and gazing back up at the large towering castle that was about to belong to him and him alone, he promised his father to make it the best fairy tale there ever was...

...and it would be about Knight... and his Lady, Alicia... …and there would be Dragons... and of course...Vampires & Ancient Secret Treasures buried in deep winding catacombs...


	7. Interlude: Secrets of Sir Godrick

A Gundam Wing Fanfiction: Secrets of Sir Godrick

Part 2 & 3

(Part 1: /d53he7v )

A lot of Part 4 of this story relates into the "Two Brother's Long ago" section...

AFTER I'm done writing this story, over on DA, I'll probably be able to concentrate enough to actually get the next (REAL) chapter of QKBLR... but I feel bad leaving you hanging... so here, Some story:

* * *

><p>The pulse of the helicopter's blades chopping through the air made it impossible for any conversation other then the necessities required. Godrick had woken up feeling uncertain as their group had set about the typical morning rush to ready for the next stage of their training.<p>

It wasn't that anything was different, or out of place... rather that nothing was; they treated him no differently. They smiled and joked about the strip club the night before... not one mentioning or complaining about the obvious bruises many of them were also sporting; Plain evidence that Iznick was not a man to be trifled with, even when out numbered.

They were headed to the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine for the final installment in their field training exercises. The reports looked grim the closer they got, what had seemed like typical drifting snow storms were threatening to whip up into full blown blizzards. It was essential that they manage to land and get their base camp established before they found themselves in a white out.

Hence why Godrick thought nothing of it when they began settling down to disembark at aplateau topping a steep slope to a river; they'd all reviewed the relevant terrain maps for the area they would be working in. The original drop zone was a level clearing about four miles from the river that ran close to the camp...obviously they'd altered the original plan to compensate for the sudden turn of events.

"Your up first, Juggernaut!" Sergeant Bower hollered over the machinery. Iznick gave no complaint other then a glance to Godrick before he moved to the open doorway to prepare to propel down the wire.

It was odd the way that the chopper suddenly listed as if hit by a too strong gust; the motion was too exaggerated considering the oodles of technology at work to ensure against such upsets. Godrick automatically lunged to snag hold of the Russian's pack, catching a hand bar on the door frame. He'd expected his load to lighten when Bower moved to lend a hand – but not as much as it did when Iznick was suddenly free falling down into the rapid icy flow now beneath them.

Godrick caught the shine of a blade edge in the Sergeant's hand out of the corner of his eye; his mind didn't tend to think about things, so it was an effortless decision that sent him leaping out into the open snow filled air.

"You perverted _!" is what they might have heard if the helicopter had not been pulling up and away already. He quickly discovered the rocky and uneven ground that was hidden beneath the snow as he tumbled, and painfully bounced, down the incline; clutching the pack hoping it, and the one on his back, would absorb most of the impact.

Coming to a stop not far from the river's edge he had to wait a moment for the shock to wear off before he dared test his battered limbs; he was lucky to find his sidearm still cased and his ever present sword had also managed to accompany him strapped to his back through the hellish ride. His ankle was sprained, if not as broken as some of his ribs felt, and his knee dislocated from first touch down.

Swallowing against the instinctual aversion to pain; he was spurred on by the sudden clutching awareness of cold and the silence of the flurrying snow. He cracked the bones back into their rightful place pushing his own concerns from his mind; The chopper was long gone.

Limping he tried to make his way quickly down the river edge; careful of hidden ice ledges disguised as solid ground while scanning the current for sight of his room mate, calling out his name as he went. Beyond the river was an sheer cliff that would be almost impossible to climb even if one could cross. Godrick tripped in surprise when next to him a dark form lunged out of the water's edge choking and gasping for air; it was Iznick.

"IZNICK! Let me give you a hand!" Godrick scrambled to help heave his soaked form from the frigged water, the deep numbing cold was already severely affecting the burly man's movements. "Come on! We have to get back up the slope, I don't think we're going to find any shelter on the water's edge!"

Iznick just stared at him for a long time, his lips already turning blue and his constricted breaths steamed out into the air, before he nodded and pushed himself up onto his feet. Quickly noticing Godrick's limp, he insisted on taking the bags leaving his friends hands free to use his sheathed sword like a cane as they stumbled up the hillside. Once at the top the two scanned their surroundings for a clue of their next move. A mountain peak rose above the treetops a head of them, and several more could be seen surrounding them, but none held any familiarity.

"Maybe we should have...stayed down by...by the river, follow it." Iznick's teeth were chattering as he pulled open his own pack and fished out a large bottle he'd covered with silver tape. Godrick caught a whiff of the strong aroma when he swigged it: cheap vodka.

"That won't help you for very long. We need to find a dry spot out of the snow, finding a cave down there would be lucky but we can't count on it. Besides we have no idea WHICH river this is anymore. The others could be setting up down stream or up... or even 60+ miles from here. The lords know we aren't going to be able to count on finding civilization out here. Hopefully the predators will have already done their pre-storm foraging..." Godrick looked up to the darkening sky.

"You didn't see w-which way they flew off?" Godrick shook his head in reply.

"We came in from that direction..." He moved to pull at one of the outer pockets on his pack to produce a compass – that had been smashed by his downward tumble.

"Enough of that, we should keep moving. Figure it out when the storm passes." Iznick made to start towards the treeline, but stopped when Godrick wasn't following him. He was staring down at the fractured face of the family heirloom, the oils that had suspended the needle and allowed it to pick up the magnetic influences of the Earth around it for centuries leaked into his fine knit woolen gloves. "Godrick! We MUST move!"

Snapping out of the moment he tucked the item into the breast pocket of the winter over-jacket, determinedly hobbling into the thick wilds ahead as the wind swept the strands that had come loose from his pony tail across his face.

A short ways in, when Iznick went to climb over a particularly thick tree that had been uprooted, the outer shell gave way revealing its hollow rotten interior. Trapped to his waist and cursing he kicked back to free himself, braking the trunk wall open further, but Godrick pulled at his frost encrusted jacket to stop him continuing his destruction.

"Hold!" he was thankful to discover his flashlight unbroken and used it to peer down the hollow space searching for occupants before he slid inside feet first; breaking away the soft, loose, and most importantly dry, wood bits that had not fully disintegrated from the walls to widen the space. "This might do! Widen the opening and try to keep an overhang..." Godrick was slipping back out, "I'll try and get some green branches to build up a barricade against the wind."

Iznick peered down the dark hole,

"Are y-you sure?" his teeth were starting to chatter again, but Godrick was already off hacking down leafy branches to start piling around the opening.

In less time then it would have taken to clear the ground and pitch a tent; they made a breach on the other end and along the elongated chamber to prevent smoke building up and suffocating them; lined the rotted interior with one of the water-tight cloth tarps they carried with them; and surround a makeshift pit with snow to prevent the fire spreading to the rest of the shelter, whilst using rocks to build up the base to keep the fire from drowning, should too much snow melt for the sponge-like wood to absorb.

Done threading the branches together to form a new, wider wall to cup in the heat of the fire that had just been set; Godrick, much to Iznick's flattered surprise, pushed his fumbling stiff hands aside and undid the rest of the buttons on his over-jacket adding it as another inner layer of the wall where it had the best chance to eventually dry,

"I know. It's your dream come true. Get bedding stuffed down there and tuck in." Godrick said blushing as he pulled off Iznick's boots and still sopping wet socks. He tried not to think about it too much as he helped him out of the rest of his water laden garments; then set off at a limp to try and get as much easy burning wood as the nearby snowy world would offer, hoping it would be enough to last the night.

"Godrick... Why are you here?" Iznick asked when Godrick had finally pealed off his own jacket and boots (only) and slid into the tree trunk to lay behind him.

"I don't know, because honor doesn't make exceptions? " he laughed, squirming to try and get comfortable in the confined space, "...just do me a favor...try not to get too bad of a hard on."

Iznick who was already recovering from his short swim as the storm began to settle over the area, let out a deep laugh of his own swigging from his vodka bottle once more,

"Ha, ha, I'll just pretend your a little woman. That should help..."

Godrick couldn't help drifting to sleep quickly with the musty wooded scent mixing with that of sweat... and booze.

"...I'm not a little girl..." he muttered, already lost to the dreamworld...

* * *

><p>Part 3: Running From Wolves; Dances With Horses<p>

Godrick was alone when he awoke; Iznick's garments were gone but his pack remained, the heat off the embers from the night before had eaten most of the way through a half-foot thick wood piece lain atop them. The storm had subsided and the sun had already caused the snow to flow into a glittering icy coating of the branches above.

He pushed himself up and started to slide out of the bedroll, making the massive mistake of trying to flex his right leg. Biting back the pain he dragged himself back further and pulled up his pant leg to review the damage; his knee had swollen badly in the night and he could only catch a sample of the color pallet his equally enlarged ankle was sporting unable to reach far enough to pull the top of his sock down.

"F_k..." he slouched against the rotted interior wall, "I should have wrapped that, huh..." gently he squeezed the bulge, it was going to be hard to bind it properly himself. Resigning to have to wait till Iznick returned he pulled his pack closer and dug out his med-kit in search of an anti-inflammatory. The little pill bottle wasn't hard to pick out, but it brought something else to Godrick's attention that had him tearing through the rest of his pack in vain.

His 'other' medication, a strong dose of hormones, had gotten left behind. He drank down the aspirin with a sip from his canteen then tugged the nearly undone bow from his hair to retie it. When Iznick did return he found Godrick still forlornly staring into the slowly regrowing fire.

"Look, I caught us food. They're not too small either." Iznick was indeed sporting a dead pair of wild rabbits. He pulled the clump of branches back to widen the space so he could prepare the large rodents.

"That's a start at least. We should get moving as soon as possible though, the going will be pretty slow." Godrick re-hoisted his pant leg to elaborate.

Iznick tisked and made a face,

"You shouldn't have been using it so much yesterday, today will make it worse."

"Did you get a better look at where we are, or at least an idea of where we should go?"

Iznick was shaking his head,

"The land, yes. I couldn't spot smoke in the distance, or any other sign of people. I think we are best heading north and west, I'd rather end up in Poland then Romania."

"That's true..." Godrick let out a deep sigh. Soon enough Iznick had the meat roasting and turned his attention to getting a bandage around Godrick's swollen joints.

"Hm, can you flex your toes?" Iznick asked after he'd gotten Godrick's sock off. The stubby digits seemed mobile enough considering how inflamed the ankle was, "Just a bad sprain, you might have torn some tissue but more likely it just hit too many rocks on the way down."

Wrapping the ankle just as tightly Iznick helped him onto his feet so he could finally limp away to relieve himself leaning on a tree.

- ...speak not of the devil, lest he may appear... -

The going was slow and they'd barely started to round the mountain side by the time the sun had passed its zenith. Godrick had made himself a better crutch to alleviate the abuse on his sword but even then he found the pace excruciatingly slow, Iznick noticed.

"Really Godrick, I've never heard so much whining from you before! We have no idea where we are headed, I'm sure it wont make a difference if we arrive at 'No Where' tomorrow or the day after!"

"It might..." Godrick grumbled.

"Uh oh." Iznick halted in his tracks staring at the disturbed snow ahead of them.

"It looks like some sort of deer or herd animal passed through... probably not dangerous." Godrick frowned surveying the scene.

"In Siberia we don't have this nonsense about black cats crossing your path being a bad omen... but a herd of sheep?" he moved closer to examine how the path clearly divided the underbrush, "This looks like an established run, Wolves will know of it, they could pick up our scent here."

Godrick looked back over his shoulder to scan through the thick trees,

"Maybe we should head down slope and find more open ground."

"No," Iznick shook his head, "We need higher ground, rockier, steeper... I'd rather deal with big cats then big bears."

"Oh? I thought you would want to take a stroll down by the river? You never know... There might be a real hansom one with nice six-inch claws to give your back a good scratching after your done coupling with it." The Khushrenada flashed a devilish smile that was a centuries old family signature.

Iznick just threw back his head laughing as he adjusted the packs he'd slung over his shoulders, and set off towards where the rise increased and the trees thinned. Godrick made his way after trying to find a regular rhythm to his stilted gait: Not assured in the least by the dark from he caught at the edge of his vision as it darted between trees.

It wasn't long before the silence grew around them and the signs were almost impossible to ignore.

"Iznick... There's a wolf behind us." Godrick kept his voice level.

"There is maybe three more keeping a good ways ahead too, I've been spotting their trails."

Some how it was comforting to hear he wasn't the only one who'd noticed something, even if it was bad news,

"Should we... Trench?" Godrick was mentally counting how many bullets he had on him as he tried to pick up his pace, swallowing against his growing sense of panic.

"No, no, just keep moving. They're trying to spook us... easier to catch a prey that isn't thinking. If we hole up, we'll prove we're something worth besieging and I'm sure the ones around us now are merely scouting for a much larger pack. They'll miss dinner if they stay out playing too late." Iznick pulled out his TT33 Tokerev and checked its magazine.

"Damn it! What the_ are we even doing out here? Where the _ did the rest of them go? I swear I'm going to give 'em_ if we ever make it out of this..." Godrick could feel the panic forming into something else as the lump continued to grow in his throat.

"Stay calm, this isn't like you Godrick. Don't fall apart on me out here..." He threw a glance back over his shoulder at his only ally and wasn't reassured by the glistening streak visible on his cheek like an ice flow leaking from one of his deep blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it... I forgot to pack my_ pills... that or they fell out when I dropped." he angrily brushed the moisture off his cheek trying to blink back any further salty embarrassments.

"What do you need them for anyways?" Iznick tried to slow his step to keep in line with Godrick.

"They're just... hormones." Godrick laughed sheepishly, "They say my mother went insane after her first child, my brother Dermail. Refused to bare any more children for years. My father discovered her attempting to 'sabotage' me when she did finally get pregnant again... I uh... had to be moved into.." he looked down in shame, "...an artificial womb."

Iznick just laughed at the pains of his aristocratic pedigree,

"Sabotage you? How did she try to sabotage you?"

"She tried to..." Godrick was blushing terribly, "...turn me into a girl."

"Your kidding right?" Iznick's mirth did not ease, but now came in gales.

"IZNICK!" Godrick halted, tears had started dripping from both eyes now, "There are _wolves hunting us through some god-be-_ land after we've been stranded here by a pack of homophobic _-tards; with no compass! No map! No destination and less provisions then I feel comfortable having on a Sunday ride on my OWN ESTATE! It is NOT THAT FUNNY!"

Iznick's face only reddened deeper at his emotional tantrum,

"Just imagine how much luckier you would have been if you hadn't jumped out like a fool?"

The possibilities, ALL of the possibilities, of how different things could have been weighed upon Godrick... especially if he were camping with that pack of 'homophobic_-tards' right now. Luck might work in strange ways but the emotional storm aggravated by his injured leg and the pressing danger around them couldn't be quelled by such a small piece of solace,

"How do you know I jumped?" Godrick's voice was faded as sobs began to steal his breath; he slumped against his crutch.

"Godrick!" Iznick took him roughly by the shoulders, lifting him up to stare straight into his blue eyes with his own dark pair, "I know you! You are a man of great strength and courage! Let this pass, forget about the wolves! Forget about the others! I will get you back home." he pulled Godrick into a tight hug, "...I promise."

He didn't know why... maybe it was all the fairy tales he'd read growing up... the line had been said;

So...

Godrick's hand slid up over Iznick's shoulder as their lips found each others. It suddenly WAS a lot easier to forget about everything else, but he shied away at the first parting that begged to go deeper, turning his head side.

"I'm sorry..." Iznick's voice growled against his ear, "But if your going to act like a little girl, I guess I'm going to have to treat you like one."

There was a different kind of growl to the side of them... that was soon answered from behind – Both men went for their pistols. The conversation amongst their stalkers was not one of attack however, and a different sound began to grow from behind them as the wolves fled from their posts; The sound of hooves muffled by snow.

As the first forms became clear through the trees, Godrick's jaw dropped to his feet,

"Those are... Khuβhrénir!"

"How can you be sure?" Iznick kept his guard up as more of the horses could be seen moving their way.

"A small herd runs wild on my Estate... I heard they roam these mountains as well; they are unmistakable."

"We are in luck then... I think I can catch one..." Iznick moved to get a length of rope, but Godrick stopped him.

"Catch one! Even fully tamed and trained their more likely to crush your skull then let you ride them! It's said they are my families ancestors, I doubt you will find a more prideful creature."

Iznick looked crestfallen at Godrick's lack of confidence in his abilities,

"Then what are we to do?"

"Try and stay with them I guess... They certainly ran off the wolves... who knows? Maybe they were following us? Just keep away from their mares and calves."

"That shouldn't be a problem for me." Iznick smirked as he took Godrick's crutch, and his arm over his shoulder this time, as they set off once more trying to keep pace with the roaming beasts.

Sooner then they expected they came across... a road... that sported a sign that at one point might have been very informative but the weather had worn away much of it's lettering. It was odd the way that their 'escorts' suddenly picked up their speed and all but vanished from around them; Leaving the two alone to ponder the strange ways of the world they'd found themselves in.

Upon finally deciphering what paint was left on the sign, Godrick began to laugh.

"What is it?" Iznick asked confused looking between his companion and the sign.

"To the Castle 'Noh Vier'." Iznick still didn't get it. "What was it you said earlier? 'it wont make a difference if we arrive at 'No Where' tomorrow or the day after'?" Godrick laughed more, "It seems your right because we've gotten to 'Noh Vier' today!"

Iznick just shook his head, glad that Godrick was back to himself again.


	8. Interlude Continued

A Gundam Wing Fanfiction: Secrets of Sir Godrick (Part4)

Der Compass Von Noh Vier!

Fairy Tales are like Four Leaf Clovers...

...Just because you've never found one doesn't mean they don't exist. ^_~

...Godrick's dream come true.. =D ...as Iznick just goes: "I said NOT a FAIRY! Keep those butterfly wings away from me sketch-lady!" ^_~ I'll sneak em in...

* * *

><p>Godrick had taken his crutch back from Iznick; insisting on making his own way now that they had a clear and wide path leading them to the Castle Noh Vier – Its red-tile topped spires looming ahead seemed a fantastical flare of color against the bleached landscape.<p>

"Do you think they will have a line for us to contact Luxembourg? Or would it be better if we get back to the Alliance Academy on our own and explained things personally?" Iznick wondered aloud.

"Not a clue... to be honest; think about it? We've just come across a castle, far out in the Carpathian wilds, after being chased by wolves and then saved by the spiritual manifestation of my ancestors. What are the chances that anyone still LIVES here? Personally, if we are NOT met by a grounds keeper or servant whose been employed for an indeterminable amount of time, and introduces themselves as 'Igor', I shall be sorely disappointed!"

Iznick gave Godrick a sly and thoughtful look,

"Your mood has certainly picked up. So... I guess I won't argue the facts that; we were hardly chased, meaning there was nothing for these spirit beasts to save us from; and for all your fretting there could be an entire metropolis less then 10 miles from here and we'd be none the wiser! I think there is more to this... like, why Igor? Why not... Alonzo?"

"Alonzo? Have you not read ANY Transylvanian classics? Far too 'pretty', it always is the gimp-legged-hunchback leper who answers the gate and their name HAS to be Igor!" Godrick ended with a flourished toss of his head.

"I always wanted to have a manservant named Alonzo..." Iznick mused making Godrick laugh.

Soon enough the road drew near to what was looking more and more like an unoccupied dwelling standing as a massive monument to the past with its disintegrated and over grown outer walls.

"Hold." Godrick stopped short and pulled Iznick back from taking another step forwards, "Look, there used to be a gate here..." Indeed there were two iron-crown topped stone columns on either side of the road.

"So?" The significance of the ruined structure was lost to Iznick giving Godrick cause to give an exasperated sigh.

"A castle's entrance is NOT at its front door. It is at the 'threshold' and to cross it unbidden? Well... at that point you are a trespasser and at the owner's mercy. If you clear the snow there is probably a seal here saying as much. In Fairy Tales you need to pay attention to the specifics or else you'll meet a very bad end."

"Oh, I see..." Iznick chuckled, "...one problem. This isn't a Fairy Tale, Godrick, and from the looks of it? Your right, no one has been home for centuries. We'll probably go in, find the least drafty room and make another camp tonight. Maybe stay awhile and let your leg get better before we move on. Besides, even if someone were home," he threw his hands wide, "How do we knock when there is no door, or bell pull?"

Godrick thought about it looking about them at the snow covered mound that had been a gatehouse; he frowned knitting his elegant brow together looking up at the high spires once more – he could hear the wind whistling past them,

"You don't knock...hand me your bottle." Iznick fumbled with his pack a moment before he handed the duct taped vodka container over. Godrick took a quick swig from it before he pursed his lips and blew across its top unleashing three long mournful tones in succession – silence fell after they passed from the air.

"This is redicu..." Iznick hadn't even finished the word before, in the distance, the heavy wooden doors to the inner wall were pulled open from the inside and a lone rider galloped across the distance towards them.

"See? Now, whatever you do: Do not tell them we're lost."

"Why? You never struck me as the type who'd be too embarrassed to ask for directions." Iznick grinned.

"It's not about that, just play along. The number one rule in Fairy Tales is to always be expected somewhere."

"What good is that?"

Godrick just looked at Iznick with his own grin,

"It's not as if the witch in the Candy Cottage would have tried to eat Hansel and Gretel if she knew their parents would come looking for them. At that point they really were on their own."

"I thought their parents do find them in the end?" Iznick was trying his best to remember the vague images from his past.

"...Not in the original story."

The horsemen finally reached them and reared his steed to a stop. He was not a hunchback nor did he seem to suffer from flesh eating illnesses (that they could tell), [...or Bath salts XD]

"I... am Ig'Oriött. I have served the master of 'Many Boar' Castle for many years...". His features were dark and sharp, goatee distinguished, his black hair kept long and allowed to flow freely about his shoulders and he was dressed in... well fairy tale fashion: with riding boots, tight brown leather pants and a black and green tunic with a heavy boar skin cloak.

None the less, Iznick was impressed enough and cut him off before he could speak further,

"Perfect! We have come to the right place! I was afraid my companion here would become too disappointed to accept your kind hospitality!" He clapped a hand on Godrick's shoulder nearly knocking him over.

"I was... unaware that I had offered any. I would ask whom you are but... we do not take visitors or unannounced guests here. Though..." Ig'Oriött's eyes narrowed as he regarded Godrick, "Would you be sent by... Lord Kushina'treyya?"

The two boys looked at each other, Godrick's eyes popped when he suddenly made the connection and faked a coughing fit to play off his surprise,

"What would bring you to that conclusion?"

Ig'Oriött let out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes in exasperation,

"We do not care if Trëyuv is marrying his thirteenth bride. Why he insists on sending messenger after messenger here imploring our master to send his blessings, I do not know. It is not our business to bless such unions. If that is why you were sent then return with that message... again."

"We weren't sent..." Godrick glanced to Iznick, "We were...on our way there, but seem to have gotten turned around in the storm. I'm a cousin of Lord Trëyuv's."

Ig'Oriött narrowed his eyes suspicious of the story as he took their green uniforms and Godrick's makeshift crutch into account,

"Is that so...? From where have you come then? Lord Trëyuv's castle is some distance from here, any fool with a compass would be able to find their way there easily. Here, on the other hand..." He trailed off shaking his head slowly. "...not so easy."

Godrick laughed nervously hoping he didn't go too far,

"Ah, well you see... I took a bit of a fall. My compass got smashed," he rummaged shortly before producing the ruined heirloom and held it up by it's fine silver chain for Ig'Oriött to examine, "Do you think you might have one to lend us? Or perhaps some sort of guide to get us going in the right direction?"

Ig'Oriött leaned down and reached out a leather gloved hand to catch the swinging object, a strange look came over his face as he scanned the shattered face of the piece of ancient metal-craft. His eyes went wide and he caught his breath when he shifted the piece over in his hand revealing the delicate relief of a rose surrounded by a thorny wreath.

"You're name wouldn't happen to be Godrick, by chance, would it?"

Godrick shifted nervously unsure if he should be honest or not,

"It might be..."

Ig'Oriött pulled the chain from Godrick's hand and tucked the ruined compass into a hidden pocket on his tunic and sat up straight on his horse,

"The master will wish to see this at once... come." He wheeled his mount around and took off back through the snow the way he had come.

"Should we follow?" Iznick looked a little confused by the man's abruptness, and how he could possibly have known Godrick's name.

"Do you think? He has my compass!"

"Its broken. We don't need it." He shrugged Godrick's horrified look off and started towards the castle.

* * *

><p>Upon being shown into the main hall by an elderly maid, The Master and Ig'Oriött were already waiting to receive them – the compass lay on a velvet cushion on the alter-like table before the high-backed lord's chair.<p>

The Master himself looked shriveled with papery skin clinging to his boney form and sparse white wiry hair covering his skull. The fine cloth of his robes were worn and frayed, but his most noticeable feature would be the red cloth blindfold tied around his head. When he spoke his voice was as wheezing, frail and cracked as one would expect from someone who looked closer to a hundred centuries rather then a hundred years old,

"When I did place this piece...of my best craftsmanship...into Lord Trieze's hand those many, many, many...years ago. I made him promise me two things... One; That if he found the eternal peace he sought with his brother, he would privy me with its secret... Two..." The man rose to his feet nearly instantaneously transformed as his voice suddenly re-found its strength, "...that he would NEVER let it fall into GODRICK'S KEEPING! FOR PRECISELY THIS REASON!" The Master's fist slammed down onto the stone table next to the broken compass sending a shudder of vibration that could be felt underfoot.

…Even through the blindfold the two boys could feel his sightless gaze burning into them.


End file.
